Providence
by mangoaddict
Summary: A MT and MiI alternate ending to season two. The pod squad struggles to figure out their true feelings for each other as they race to stop an old enemy.
1. Walk Away

Title: Providence

Disclaimer: I don't own anything

Author's note: So, I really shouldn't be starting another story, seeing as I am currently in the middle of four others, but I am anyway. Unfortunately, that means that I won't be able to post update dates at the end of each chapter for this story as I don't know how frequently I'll get the chapters out. But I'll try to keep it somewhat consistent, hopefully once a week.

Okay, so here is the deal with the story. It starts at the end of 'Heart of Mine,' right when Liz walks in on Max and Tess kissing, and then everything that happens after that I am changing. The couples will start out CC and eventually be M/T and Mi/I. Tess is not evil, so Alex has not been mind-warped, and his trip to Sweden really was a trip to Sweden.

Also, pay attention to any place where I might indicate that it is someone's point of view. _Italics_ are thoughts.

* * *

Chapter One: Walk Away

In poker, if you've got nothing in your hand, you're supposed to quit early, unless you think you can bluff your way through it. And since all the odds are against you on that, it is a good idea to walk away while you still can. Fold early, and watch the others play.

Sometimes you realize later on that folding was a stupid idea. Sometimes no one else has anything in their hand either, and had you stayed in, you would have had the best hand, and you would have won.

On the other hand, sometimes you stay in, and then you realize, after you've bet your last chip, that you should have folded long ago.

Either way, you lose something.

The goal is to strike a balance, make it so that your winnings outweigh your losses. And the best way to do that is to walk away early, walk away while you still have chips on the table, money in your pocket, and some dignity left. Save face and gracefully back out, prepared to come back some other day when the stars are aligned and luck is in your favor.

The thing is, and no one ever tells you this, that sometimes you try to walk away, and fate will step in and force you back until you are out of chips, out of money, and out of dignity.

What do you do then?

* * *

Max's POV 

"What else do you remember?"

Max leaned uncomfortably back against the chairs and shook his head, not sure he wanted to say what was on his mind. _Do I tell her? She asked what I remembered and I remember this. How do I not tell her? But if I tell her, I might give her the wrong impression…_ "I remembered something else," Max said at last.

Tess looked up sharply. "What else?" she asked, her blue eyes lighting up with happiness that Max was remembering more and more of his past life.

"Our first kiss," Max said at last. _Oh, what am I doing? This is bad, this is very bad._ "It was at a party…late at night. And you…" _Oh, god, what if she doesn't remember?_

"I…I leaned in," Tess murmured, "and whispered in your ear, and you touched my cheek…" Her voice was hoarse and filled with emotion, her eyes watery with tears.

"And then we just…" Max leaned in towards Tess, placing a hand on her shoulder, and reaching the other one up towards her cheek.

And then he felt it, the other set of eyes that were on him, and he turned slightly to look over Tess' head.

His heart stopped.

Liz was standing there, staring at the two of them, a heartbroken expression on her face. She stifled a sob and turned, running out of the room and yanking off her corsage as she did so.

Max jumped to his feet in horror. _Oh, what have I done? That was bad, that was very, very bad! _Without a backward glance at Tess, he hurried out of the room after Liz, his heart beating frantically in his chest.

He caught up with Liz at the doors leading into the parking lot and grabbed her arm. "Nothing happened, Liz! I swear, nothing happened," he panted frantically.

Liz wrenched her arm out of his grasp and shook her head, looking away in disbelief and disgust. "You asked me to Prom," she spat. "_You_ asked _me_, and then you kiss _Tess_?" She brushed her long hair out of her face, letting the loose strands cascade over her back.

"I didn't kiss Tess." _But I almost kissed Tess. But that isn't the same thing, because I didn't kiss Tess. Right?_ "Look, when you walked in, we had just been talking about…" he lowered his voice and glanced around the empty hallway, "past lives, and our first kiss. But I didn't…we didn't…Liz, nothing happened!"

Liz shook her head and looked down at the floor. She shivered, suddenly cold, and glanced over at the double doors that lead onto the dance floor. Licking her dry lips, she said, "Would you have kissed Tess, if I had not shown up?"

"No!" _Liar, liar, pants on fire…_ "Of course not." Max reached out and took Liz in his arms, breathing a sigh of relief when she didn't pull away. "I love you. Tess is always going to be there, I can't change that. She is part of my life, and you have to accept that. But I love you."

Liz nodded thoughtfully, then sighed and said, "But how can I trust that, Max? Seeing you with Tess…it broke my heart. Do you have any idea what that feels like?"

_Of course I do! Or do you think I enjoy remembering the image of you and Kyle in bed together?_ Max dropped his arms and stepped away from Liz. "How can you ask me that?" he demanded harshly. "You slept with Kyle! Of course I know what it feels like to have my heart broken. You had sex with Kyle!" His voice reverberated through the space, loud and angry and hurt.

Liz gasped, lifting a hand to her mouth, tears slipping out from under her eyes. "Max, I…"

"I forgave you for that because I love you, Liz!" Max hissed. "And you won't even give me a chance because I _almost_ kissed another girl?" _Oh, this is not good. Bringing up all this is not going to help the relationship… but it feels so good_.

"I never slept with Kyle!"

_Wh-what?_ "What?" Max was momentarily stunned, his confused question caught in his throat as he stared at Liz, trying to comprehend what he had just heard. "But I saw…" _Don't remember that image. Don't remember that image. You don't want to see Liz naked with another guy. Don't think about it._

"I…" Liz swallowed and looked away. "I was trying to get you to fall out of love with me. So you could be with Tess. So you could follow your destiny." Her voice echoed slightly in the empty hallway. "I needed to…you needed to let me go." Liz swallowed back another sob and ran a hand through her hair.

Max took another step back. "You didn't sleep with Kyle?" he repeated. "You didn't sleep with Kyle. You didn't…you didn't…?" _Great, now you sound like an blabbering idiot. Very smooth._

Liz smiled slightly through her tears and shook her head. "No, I didn't. I love you too much to hurt you like that."

"You did hurt me," Max whispered back.

"I know, and I am so sorry," Liz murmured, reaching up and placing a gentle kiss on Max's cheek. A few strands of her hair brushed against his face, tickling him. "I never wanted to hurt you, please believe me."

"I do," Max replied, and knew it was true. "I wish things could go back to the way they were." He placed his hand on Liz's cheek, smoothing away a stray tear.

"They can't," Liz said with a sigh. "Too much has happened, and we can't just ignore it. But we can work on it, and maybe someday we can get there again."

"I'd like that." _Okay, this is going well. This is going very well. This is good_. Max ran a hand through his hair and took a shaky breath. "I'd like that very much."

Liz stood on her tiptoes and gave him another kiss, then said, "I'm going to go back into the dance. I need to check on Maria. Then maybe we can go somewhere else?" She gave Max a suggestive smile. "Somewhere a little more private."

Max nodded slowly, and Liz turned and walked away. He watched as she passed through the doors back to the dance floor, then sighed and glanced back at the hallway leading to the chairs he and Tess had been sitting on just moments before.

And his heart stopped.

Tess was standing there, staring at him, her eyes filled with tears. She gave a weak smile and bit her lip, looking away in discomfort.

"How long have you been there?" Max asked. How much did she hear? _Oh, this is not good. This is very not good_. He took a few steps towards her, but she backed away, slipping further into the shadows.

"You chose Liz," Tess said slowly, her blue eyes fixing him in a piercing stare.

Max nodded._ Don't say something stupid, don't say something stupid._ "I love her." _That was stupid_. Max sighed and looked away, and Tess looked down at the ground. _Great, now you are officially a complete jerk._

"Okay," Tess said simply. She turned and walked away.

* * *

Tess' POV 

Tess watched as Max jumped to his feet and chased Liz from the room. Resisting the urge to scream in frustration, she got up slowly and smoothed out the wrinkles in her dress. A few strands of hair had come loose from her updo, and she glanced quickly around the room, making sure she wasn't being observed, then fixed them with a simple wave of her hand.

_Do I stay here? I don't want to intrude on Max talking to Liz. They are probably having a private conversation…I wonder what they are talking about. Maybe I should go…no, bad idea! I'm not twelve, this isn't middle school, I don't eavesdrop on people. But what if he's breaking up with her? He's not, though. He loves her, and he doesn't love me. But he almost kissed me. We would have kissed if Liz hadn't shown up. So what do I do? Do I stay here? Will Max come back and tell me when it is all over? What if he doesn't come back for me? What if I stay here and wait for him forever, and he never comes, and I starve to death? Okay, now I am just being stupid. I should go and find him. He left a while ago, he's had plenty of time to talk to Liz by now. Unless they are making out. I don't want to walk in on them making out. But what if Liz breaks up with Max and he is upset and needs someone to talk to? What if he is waiting for me? Of course he isn't waiting for me. He's with Liz, he loves Liz. What do I do?_

Tess sighed and bit her lip, then turned and walked slowly out of the room, her heart hammering wildly in her chest as she retraced Max's steps.

And then she heard the voices.

"I wish things could go back to the way they were." It was Max's voice, and it was filled with longing.

"They can't. Too much has happened, and we can't just ignore it." That was Liz's reply, and her voice was filled with sobs, she had been crying. And she was upset. Tess could just imagine her doe-eyes filled with salty tears as she stared up at Max in heartache and love.

_I hate Liz. Well, I don't hate her. I dislike her. Actually, I don't really dislike her. I kind of like her. I might actually really like her if I didn't have to hate her. But she has Max. I hate that she has Max. Stupid love. _

"But we can work on it, and maybe someday we can get there again," Liz was saying.

Tess stepped further out into the hall so that she could see the two of them. They were standing close together, chemistry beating wildly between them, crackling in the air.

"I'd like that," Max replied, running a hand through his hair. "I'd like that very much." Tess could hear the sincerity in his voice, and she wondered if her heart could break any more.

And then Liz stood on her tiptoes and gave Max a kiss, and Tess forced back a broken sob. Liz, oblivious to Tess' hidden presence, murmured, "I'm going to go back into the dance. I need to check on Maria. Then maybe we can go somewhere else?" She gave Max a suggestive smile. "Somewhere a little more private."

Tess watched Max. Watched as he watched Liz disappear onto the dance floor. Watched as he turned slowly, watched as his eyes met her own, watched as the shock leapt into those tawny orbs.

"How long have you been there?" Max asked.

Tess didn't answer right away, wondering what she should say. At last, knowing she needed to get straight to the point, she forced the heavy words from her lips, "You chose Liz." _Try not to sound disappointed. Emotions are a weakness. Try to sound… Oh, to hell with it. I'm going to sound upset if I damn well want._

"I love her." He looked distinctly uncomfortable now, as though suddenly realizing how insensitive that was. He turned and looked away, and she looked down at her hands in frustration.

_Don't say something stupid, don't say something stupid._ "Okay." _That was stupid. Walk away now. Walk away before you look like even more of an idiot. Damn it, feet start moving now!_ She turned and walked away.

* * *

Sometimes fate deals you a losing hand, sometimes it deals you a winning hand. Sometimes it deals you a hand and as you stare at that hand, you have no idea whether it is good or bad, and no idea what to do next. Do you bet your last chip and cross your fingers, praying that everything will be alright in the end? Or do you fold out, and hope the next round will give you what you need to get ahead again? 

Is it worth it to fight when all the odds are against you, your hand has nothing, and your highest card is a ten? Is it worth it to fold when you've got two pair, but everyone else says they've got a flush, and you don't know if they are bluffing or not?

When do you walk away?

* * *

Author's note: Like I said, I can't post update dates, but I'll try not to let too much time pass in between updates. And don't worry, this will eventually be M/T and Mi/I, it just is going to take a little while to get there.  



	2. Foreshadowing

Title: Providence

Disclaimer: I don't own anything

Author's note: So, I decided not to include Sean in this story. I know he is sort of important at the end of Season Two, but I wrote him out of my version because he didn't really fit. Forget that he exists, he will not show up at all in this story. Also, a make a reference to Maria thinking that Michael slept with Juanita. For those of you who don't remember, Juanita was his dance teacher, and Maria thought they were having an affair, although she didn't have any proof. _Italics _are thoughts, and pay attention to the POV.

* * *

Chapter Two: Foreshadowing

Isabel POV

Isabel closed her locker and glanced around the hallway. It was packed with students milling about and gossiping with each other about the previous Saturday night's Prom. Rumors were flying through the air, stories about who danced with whom, and who hooked up with whom, and whose heart was broken. It was so… trivial… that it suddenly bothered her, and she turned abruptly, determined to walk away.

Isabel had only taken a few steps when she ran straight into Tess, who was just turning the corner. The smaller girl stepped backwards in surprise and dropped her books.

"Oh, sorry Tess," Isabel said quickly, bending down to retrieve the books.

Tess shrugged and grabbed her books quickly. "It's fine," she replied, straightening up.

There was an awkward silence, and Isabel glanced around, trying to think about something to say. _Ask her how her weekend was. No, that's a bad idea because Max and Liz got back together. Ask her about something that doesn't have anything to do with Max. Or destiny. Or aliens._ "Are you going to class?" _Okay, that was just pathetic._

Tess held up her books. "That's the plan," she replied in a tone which clearly indicated that the answer should have been obvious. Why else would she be wandering through the halls with a handful of books?

"Oh. Well, I've got my class now, so I guess I'll see you at lunch," Isabel stammered, slightly flustered. Tess nodded, gave Isabel a hard stare, and turned and walked away.

Isabel stood in the hallway for a moment, thinking. Things with Tess were always complicated, but now that Max and Liz were truly back together… _Everything is going to be so awkward. _

But whatever thoughts Isabel was entertaining about Tess were erased as soon as Alex appeared in the hallway. He saw her and smiled, walking towards her quickly. He was dressed in jeans and a casual polo shirt, and his hair was neatly combed. Isabel blinked a couple times as she stared at him, finding herself wondering, yet again, where his new confidence had come from.

"Hey, Isabel," Alex greeted her. He reached out and linked his arm through hers, and she felt a shiver of energy crawl up her spine. "May I accompany you to class, dear lady?" he asked grandly.

_That's strange. I've never felt that electricity with Alex before._ Isabel laughed softly, and replied, "It would be most appreciated, good sir."

The two set off towards class. They walked in silence, a comfortable silence, and Isabel let her mind wander to other thoughts. At first, her thoughts settled on Max and Liz again. Her brother had been so happy after the Prom, and it had not taken much to coax the story out of him. She heard all about how he and Liz had made up, and she was glad that things were working out well for him.

Out of the corner of her eye, she suddenly caught sight of Michael. He was standing with her back towards them, talking to Maria about something. She was too far away to hear the conversation, but from their body language, she knew the two were arguing.

Again.

Michael turned away in frustration, and caught Isabel's eye. She gave him a brief smile, and he returned it with a grimace before storming away.

"Looks like Michael and Maria are arguing again," Alex commented with a dry laugh.

Isabel nodded. "Seems to be happening a lot," she agreed. She watched Maria walk away and sighed, shaking her head. Some relationships she simply did not understand, and that was one of them. There was no doubt in her mind that Michael and Maria cared a great deal for each other, but how could they date when they couldn't even be in the same room together?

"Some relationships don't make sense to the people on the outside," Alex remarked suddenly. He and Isabel locked gazes for a moment, and Isabel nodded slowly.

_How did he know what I was thinking? Am I that obvious? _"Yes, you are right about that." They paused outside the door to the classroom and unlinked arms. Isabel sighed and walked into the class, unable to shake the feeling that there was something very wrong, and very obvious, staring her straight in the face and she was completely missing it.

* * *

Kyle's POV 

Kyle watched as Tess entered the classroom and looked around. He smiled slightly as her eyes settled on him and she walked towards the empty desk next to him that she knew was reserved for her.

"Hey," Tess greeted, pushing a blonde curl behind her ear and smiling.

"Hey," Kyle replied. It had been a long weekend for them both. Kyle had seen Max and Liz slip out of the dance together, and he had suddenly realized that things were well and truly over between him and Liz. He had known it all along, but after Liz had pretended to sleep with him, he had harbored some hope that things could go back to the way they were before the shooting.

And, of course, Liz and Max leaving together had dashed all of Tess' hopes as well.

"Ready for another scintillating discussion on the history of…whatever we're talking about in this class?" Kyle asked.

Tess rewarded his attempt at humor with a dry smile that did not quite mask the hurt in her eyes. It had been there all weekend, the pain of realizing that everything she had dreamt about was not going to come true.

They had both seen Max and Liz in the hallway that morning, laughing and talking quietly. Liz had been leaning back against the locker, and Max had been standing in front of her, leaning inwards, one hand resting against the metal near her head. Liz had been so animated, and Max had looked truly happy, and Tess had taken one look at them, and turned and walked away. Kyle had hesitated, torn between following his sort-of sister or walking over to Max and smashing his fist into the hybrid king's face. He had finally decided to follow Tess, but as he left, he had seen Max turn around and catch sight of Tess' retreating figure.

And Kyle could have sworn that he had seen guilt in Max's eyes.

_I'm going to kill Max. First he steals Liz, then he breaks Tess' heart. I am going to… no, Buddha says that physical violence is not the path to enlightenment. Physical pain is transient, peace in enduring._ Kyle sighed and glanced towards the front of the room where there teacher was standing, waiting for everyone to take their seats.

"Alright, class," the teacher called out. "Settle down so we can get started."

"I don't know," Kyle muttered. "I'm fine with not starting class."

"Hey, history is important," Tess admonished softly. She pulled out a notebook and a pencil and glanced over at Kyle. "If you don't pay attention to the mistakes people made in the past, how can you hope to avoid them in the future?"

_I wonder if knowing more about their pasts could help them defeat the skins? Maybe that's why Tess is always so dead set on having everyone remember as much about their pasts as possible. _It was certainly a more flattering view than that she simply wanted Max to remember his love for her. Although, the other aliens seemed resistant, especially Max and Isabel, so it was hard to say if anything would ever come of her efforts.

Kyle glanced down at his own notebook. He had scrawled notes across it, and filled the margins with doodles. He grabbed a pencil and shot another glance over at Tess, but she wasn't looking at him anymore.

"We are going to continue our lecture on the Persian Gulf War," the teacher announced in a cheerful tone. Next to him, Tess started taking notes, but Kyle stared blankly ahead, not interested in the lecture.

* * *

Maria POV 

Maria stormed through the hallway towards her class, fuming. She was tired of this perpetual arguing with Michael, tired of the fact that they never seemed to be able to get along for more than a few days at a time. It was lunch time now, and although they had made tentative plans to meet at the tables near the north end of the quad, Michael had not shown up.

So Maria had stalked into the school, prepared to find her boyfriend and berate him for his complete and utter lack of…

She turned the corner and slammed right into Michael's tall form. Backpedaling, she managed to retain her balance, but still got the wind knocked out of her.

"Hey," Maria protested. "Watch it, Space Boy."

"Sorry," Michael said gruffly. "But you ran into me," he added as an afterthought.

Maria opened her mouth to retort, then shook her head and sighed, realizing no good would come of it. "Where have you been?" she asked instead. "I was waiting for you by the tables but you didn't show."

"Yeah, sorry about that," Michael replied airily. "I forgot."

_He forgot?_ "You forgot?" Maria asked in disbelief. "That's the best excuse you can come up with?"

"It's the truth," Michael shot back angrily, pushing past Maria and making his way down the hall.

"Hey! Don't walk away from me when we are in the middle of an argument," Maria called after him, hurrying to catch up with the alien's long strides. _Why won't he just listen to me for two seconds?_

"Why bother staying?" Michael asked. "All you do is yell at me."

"Only when you deserve it," Maria quipped, a smile playing around the corner of her lips. Michael glanced down at her and smiled slightly, although his eyes betrayed the fact that he was still annoyed. Maria sighed and shook her head. "You forgot about our lunch date, Michael," she stated simply.

"Yeah, well, you automatically jumped to the conclusion that I was sleeping with Juanita," Michael shot back. It was a bad idea to bring that up, as he well knew, but he couldn't help but say it anyway. Even if it was petty.

"I'm sorry, I'm an idiot," Maria replied, earning another smile from Michael.

"Michael?" Isabel's voice floated down the hallway, interrupting the conversation. Michael and Maria both turned to see the tall blonde walking towards them. She smiled at Maria then turned her attention back to Michael. "You got a minute? Max has something he wants to talk to us about."

"Something Czechoslovakian?" Maria asked in interest. _Did something happen? Is everyone okay?_

Isabel shrugged. "I don't know. He just asked for me to find you because he needed to talk to the two of us." She glanced at Maria apologetically. "Just the two of us."

"We had a date," Maria protested. _Figures something Czechoslovakian would get in the way. _

At the same time, Michael asked, "And not Tess?"

Isabel shook her head. "No, not Tess, just the three of us. Max is being his usual 'what I say takes precedence over everything else' self," she explained with a shrug. "I had plans with Alex also, but…"

Michael turned to Maria. "Sorry," he said stonily. "When the king calls…"

Maria huffed but nodded, knowing that if it was something important, she didn't want to keep Michael away. But it was frustrating, watching Michael constantly disappear on some alien mission. She hated that her relationship was taking a back seat to everything else, but what could she do. It wasn't like the aliens had a choice in any other this either. They certainly didn't ask to be thrown into the middle of a battle. _Don't be mad, this isn't their fault. Don't be mad, this isn't their fault. Don't be mad…_

Maria stood up on her tiptoes and gave Michael a kiss on the cheek. "Fine, go," she said, giving an understanding nod. Michael flashed her a smile and followed Isabel through the hallway, leaving Maria to watch her boyfriend walk away with the woman who would have, at some point in the past, been his wife.

_They look good together._

It was a treacherous thought that appeared before she could push it away. They did look good together, Isabel's stunning beauty complementing Michael's bad boy good looks. She was flawlessly made up and perfectly dressed, and he was rough around the edges, and it just looked…

Maria sighed and turned away. _What am I talking about? They aren't together like that. Stop being so paranoid. They don't have those feelings for each other. You know they don't._

She turned and walked back outside, not quite able to totally ignore the vague worry that still plagued her thoughts.

* * *

Normal POV 

It was a strange sensation, as though there was something blatantly obvious that she should be noticing, but wasn't. She paused on the sidewalk and glanced back and forth, trying to figure out what it was that was bothering her so much. But she couldn't figure out what it was, and after a few moments of confusion, she shrugged it off as paranoia, and continued walking.

She pushed a strand of blonde hair out of her sapphire eyes and shivered. The air was damp, but not cold, last nights rain had all but faded away, and the sun was starting to poke through the gray clouds.

The sound of footsteps on gravel caused her to slow, her heart hammering wildly in her chest. She turned and looked around, but saw nothing out of the ordinary. A man was standing by the bus stop near the end of the block, and two women were just leaving a shop on the right. A young boy ran a few steps ahead of his mother, who called out a warning as he neared the street.

She shook her head, blonde strands falling over blue eyes yet again, and sighed. Unable to completely shake the fear that plagued her, she continued walking.

She turned the corner into a side street, out of sight of those on the crowded street behind her, looked up at the man who was suddenly standing in front of her, and opened her mouth to scream.

But no sound ever came.

The blast of energy hit her in the chest, and the world faded to black as she fell to the ground.

The man looked at her for a moment, then leaned down and touched her face with one hand, tracing a finger of her features. His brown eyes were cold, like slits of dark ice, as he realized he had made a mistake.

This was not the right Queen.

He straightened slowly and looked around. He was unsure if anyone had seen him use his powers, but he did not care. If these pathetic humans came after him, they would discover that he was no naïve teenager. He was a force to be reckoned with, more so than those pathetic hybrids who called themselves the Royal Four.

He had killed the wrong Queen. That realization left a bitter aftertaste in his mouth. But more than that, it was the realization that he had been played. Nicolas had told him that the true Queen had broken off from the others and come to New York when she realized that her family would never accept her. Nicolas had lied to him, and would pay for that betrayal.

But first…first it was time to find the true Queen.

And right the wrong that had been committed so many years ago.

He turned and walked away.

On the other side of the country, Tess awoke in bed with the vague feeling that something important had just happened, if only she could figure out what it was.

* * *

Every story has foreshadowing. Little clues that hide between the lines, answers to questions that haven't yet been asked. Bits and pieces of the plot that only a perceptive reader will pick up on, or blatant clues that scream out the truth to anyone who opens the book. 

Life isn't like that.

No matter how much we may want those little clues, they do not exist. No author bends over _this_ script, carefully constructing a maze of hidden answers. There is no reader to figure out beforehand what will happen. The villain does not pause to give five page soliloquies revealing his master plan, and the hero does not turn to us and discuss his innermost thoughts.

And no one gives foreshadowing.

Life is not a story, it has no literary device to follow, no rules about run-on sentences and misplaced modifiers, no need for a beginning, middle, and end. And as such, in the rare instance that the answer is revealed before the question is asked, we do not recognize it for what it truly is. We do not understand the answer, having no concept of the question. We miss the clue, content to live in the present without thinking ahead to the future.

We simply miss it all.

And when the truth finally comes, when it stands before us completely revealed, we are caught unawares.


	3. Choosing to be Blind

Title: Providence

Disclaimer: I don't own anything

Author's note: I decided not to have this chapter be in any specific point of view. So don't worry about trying to figure out whose point of view it is. Also, the song that I refer to in the first part of the chapter is 'Blowin' in the Wind.' And I don't actually know any of the lyrics besides the one line that I indicated, but I'm sure they can be found online.

* * *

Chapter Three: Choosing to be Blind

There's a folksong about all the unanswerable questions. How many roads must a man walk down before… something or other happens. And something about looking at the sky, or hearing people cry, or watching people die. I don't remember all the lyrics. But I do remember one line, one line that always stuck in my mind.

How many times can a man turn his head, pretending he just doesn't see?

After all, that's what we do, isn't it? More often than not, it isn't that we don't notice, it's that we notice, and just don't care. Every time we walk passed a beggar on the street, every time we don't throw a spare quarter into his paper cup, it isn't that we didn't see.

And sometimes it isn't even that we don't care. We care, we just don't do anything. Why? Because we pretend not to see. And as long as we pretend we don't see, we can't be held accountable for not doing anything. We can't feel guilty, we can't have regrets. We would have done something if we had known.

And then there is the other excuse. The question, I'm just one person, what can I do? I'm small, insignificant. The quarter that I would toss into that man's cup won't even by him a bottle of water. What good is it then? What good is any of this?

How much is a quarter really worth?

The quarter is worth nothing.

Well, that isn't true. The quarter is worth exactly twenty-five cents. So it is worth almost nothing.

But stopping and dropping the quarter into the cup… taking one moment out of our day to acknowledge the begging man, to say, 'Yes, I do notice you…' how much is worth to simply stop pretending that we don't see?

How much is it worth to stop choosing to be blind?

* * *

"Wait, and you actually believe her?" Isabel asked incredulously.

Max had just finished explaining what Liz had told him about Future Max. About why she pretended to sleep with Kyle. About the world ending because the four of them didn't stick together.

Michael, Isabel, and Max were seated at a picnic table in the quad, enjoying the warmth of the Roswell sun. The rest of the Roswell High Student body also milled around outside, laughing and talking and gossiping. But they were far enough away from the three hybrids that Max could talk openly and in relative safety.

"Of course I believe Liz," Max replied. He looked down at his food. "Which means we have to stick together, no matter what."

"What?" Isabel asked quietly. "Max, are you really saying…"

"Look, if the world ended because the four of us drifted apart, then we just have to make sure not to do that this time," Max replied reasonably.

"Where's Tess?" Isabel demanded, looking around. "If it is the four of us that need to stay together, why isn't she here?"

Max shifted uncomfortably in his seat. "I wanted to talk to the two of you first before we talked to her." He bit his lip, then continued, "Because I think it would be a good idea if we stopped our investigation into our past."

"What?" This time it was Michael who spoke up with utter indignation. "You want us to just stop?" He shook his head. "Not going to happen, Maxwell."

"Michael, think about it," Max argued, trying to convince his best friend, "All the investigations do is get us into more trouble. We have finally reached a point where the FBI aren't after us and the skins and Lonnie and Rath are out of the picture. Do we really want to do something that would just draw more attention to us?"

"We don't know how long the skins are going to be gone for," Michael retorted. "If Liz is right, then they come after us in the future. We need to be prepared for them."

"If they can't find us, they won't be able to attack us," Max replied logically.

"Unless Lonnie, Rath, and Nicolas are still alive," Isabel said with a sigh, resting her elbows on the table and leaning her chin on the palm of her hand. "You know, we never actually had any proof that they were gone. And they know exactly where we are."

"All the more reason not to draw more attention to ourselves than absolutely necessary." Max pushed his food back and forth with a fork, then continued, "Look, I know it isn't the ideal situation. But we can't afford to have our safety any more compromised, and every time we do anything, someone becomes suspicious of us. First Valenti, then Topolski and Pierce, Congresswoman Whitaker…"

"Are you sure you aren't just trying to come up with ways to convince yourself that you can be normal?" Michael snapped.

"We can be normal," Max replied softly, determinedly.

"We're half alien, Maxwell," Michael replied dryly. "We don't belong here."

"Yeah, well, we are half human as well," Max responded, shaking his head. "We don't belong anywhere, but this is the only home we've got."

Isabel glanced back and forth between Michael and Max. Her head knew that what Michael was saying was true, they needed to be prepared for a possible future attack. But her heart agreed with Max; she desperately wanted a normal life, and they couldn't get it if they were breaking into buildings and traveling to New York for secret alien meetings.

"How about this," she ventured, "We wait until we are out of high school before doing any more investigating. Once we are out of Roswell and in the rest of the world, our actions will be less noticed. And if Liz is right, we've still got another ten years before the world ends." She looked over at Michael. "Is that alright?"

"We can still train," Michael said gruffly.

"We can still train in secret, as long as we are careful," Max agreed reluctantly. "Blowing up rocks and stuff is fine. Just… no trips to Texas." He said the last part with a slight grin, hoping to appease the annoyed hybrid General.

Michael sighed and nodded. "Okay," he said at last. "We've got a lot of the answers we were looking for already, I guess that is good enough for now."

Isabel stood up quickly as Alex and Liz walked over towards the three aliens. She gave Alex a brief smile, then turned back to Max. "So… who is going to tell Tess about this plan?" She narrowed her eyes shrewdly. "I assume you didn't invite her to this conclave because you knew she wouldn't agree?"

"She just doesn't understand," Max said softly. "She doesn't know how to be human."

Michael shrugged and cut in. "Or maybe it is that you don't know how to be alien." He got up and left, silently making it clear that he was not going to be the one to break the news to Tess. Although he had agreed to the plan, he certainly did not approve of it, and would not put himself in the position of having to explain it to Tess.

"I'll tell her," Max said softly. "I owe her that much." He got up and walked over to Liz, wrapped and arm around her shoulders, and drew her away from his irate sister and Alex.

Isabel watched him go then turned to Alex with a smile on her face. "Hey," she said happily. "Do you have any plans for lunch?"

"No, but whatever I decide to do, I was hoping it would include you," Alex replied suavely.

Isabel smiled. "I'd like that," she agreed, but was once again hit with an uneasy feeling as she followed Alex back to the table. Shaking her head, she pushed the confusion away and focused solely on her lunch. She had the chance to be normal now, and she wanted to be normal with Alex.

* * *

Tess grabbed the car keys from the table by the door and wondered vaguely if she should tell Kyle she was taking his car. She glanced back at the kitchen, where her sort-of brother was sitting, eating an afternoon snack, and decided against it. She didn't want to answer his questions about where she was going or what she was doing. She just wanted to get as far away from everything as possible.

She stormed out of the house and slammed the door behind her, then stalked to the car. Yanking the door open, she slipped into the driver's seat and shoved the keys into the ignition. She was furious, she was fuming, and she was hurt.

And she blamed it all on Max.

She pulled into the street. As she drove, she let her mind wander to other thoughts, to memories. Or rather, to a specific memory of the conversation she had had with Max earlier that afternoon, to the reason behind her anger now.

"_You want to stop remembering?" Tess asked hesitantly, not sure she was hearing Max right. She licked her dry lips and shook her head. "Liz told you that we are going to be overrun by skins in under a decade, and you want to stop trying to remember our pasts?"_

"_If we draw the FBI to us now, we won't be around to save the planet later," Max pointed out logically. _

_Tess swallowed back her frustration and retorted calmly, "And if we don't learn how to fight, we won't be able to stop Khivar at all."_

"_We can still train, just is secret," Max explained. "I just want us to be more careful. We can't draw attention to ourselves." He glanced around the empty hallway, and Tess could tell he was wondering whether or not it had been a good idea to have this conversation here._

_And then she realized why they were having it there. _

_Max was worried that she was going to explode at him, that she might try to do something stupid, and as long as they were in a public area, she couldn't use her powers. It was his way of making sure things didn't get out of hand._

_She ran a hand through her hair and turned away. It had been a good plan on Max's part, because she was upset enough to blow something up, and being in public was the only thing that was forcing her to stay calm._

"_We can still practice memory retrieval," Tess said softly. "That can be discreet."_

_Max shook his head. "It's too dangerous, Tess. We don't know anything about your retrieval techniques. What if someone gets hurt? What if something happens that exposes us? How do we know any of this is safe?"_

_Another logical point, but Tess couldn't help but wonder if there was more to his reasoning. She couldn't help but wonder if he simply didn't want to remember his other life._

"_Did Liz ask you not to remember any more about us?" Tess snapped before she could stop herself. It was a cruel comment, but she suddenly found she didn't care._

"_Of course not!" Max argued, flushing slightly. "Liz has nothing to do with this conversation."_

_Tess rolled her eyes. Liz had _everything_ to do with this conversation. "Why didn't you tell me of your plan when you were discussing it with Michael and Isabel? Why wait until now?" she asked._

"_I just wanted their opinions…"_

"_And not mine?" There was no right answer to that question, and Tess didn't expect Max to reply at all, but she asked it anyway._

"_Of course I want your opinion," Max said with a sigh. He looked down at his feet for a moment, then looked up at Tess and said sincerely, "But I was afraid of how you would respond. Michael, Isabel, and I… we've been human. You… haven't really had that opportunity. I was worried that your dislike of being normal would cause you to not see the situation clearly."_

_If Tess hadn't been so angry, she would have seen the common sense in Max's words. She wasn't looking at the situation with a clear mind, her bias against pretending to be completely human was clouding her vision. And, in truth, she was scared, because she didn't know how to be human. She didn't know who she was if she wasn't partially Ava._

_But Max was being a hypocrite. He was looking at the situation clearly either, because he was afraid of being part Zan. Part alien._

"_Fine, whatever," Tess turned and stormed away. She left the hallway, left the school, and walked home. _

Tess parked the car near the park and got out, blinking back her tears. She walked over to a bench and sat down. It was the same bench that she and Max had sat on after Max had seen Kyle and Liz in bed together. Although, apparently, that entire scene had been fabricated and Liz was still faithful to her 'soul mate.'

Tess closed her eyes and leaned back on the bench.

They just didn't get it. Max, Michael, and Isabel. Well, not Michael so much, but the other two. They didn't understand that they _couldn't_ be human. Not with a way being fought on their own planet, not with people dying in their names, not with an enemy as resourceful and powerful as Khivar somewhere out there, planning their demise.

And the irony of it all was that she couldn't leave these people who were blind to her and to the truth they wanted to ignore. She couldn't leave, because if she did (according to Liz), they would all die. So she was stuck here trying to save the very people she wanted to get away from.

God, she was miserable.

Minutes passed into hours and the sun sank slowly over the distant horizon. Tess thought vaguely that she should return the car in case Kyle needed it, but she didn't want to leave the safety on the bench. She didn't want to get up and face everyone and everything again. She didn't want to…

"Hey."

Tess looked up in surprise, then hastily wiped away the tears that pricked at her eyes. "Hey," she managed to choke out as she stared at the blonde in front of her. "What are you doing here, Maria?"

"Funny, I was going to ask you the same thing," Maria replied quietly. "You look like hell. Everything okay?"

Tess frowned slightly, wondering why Maria cared. She considered the possibility that the girl was simply trying to be nice, but she just… this was Maria. Liz's best friend. They couldn't be nice to each other, it went against some essential law of friendships.

"We aren't being attacked, if that's what you want to know," Tess said softly.

Maria shrugged. "I figured if it was, someone would have told me," she replied carelessly. There was an awkward silence, then Maria said, "He loves her, Tess. He always will. No matter what you had in a past life, that won't change."

Tess looked up at Maria for a moment, then shook her head. "I don't believe that," she said simply. And she didn't. Everything she remembered about Zan and Ava… How could she believe that she was meant to be with anyone other than Max?

"Then you are just going to continue being hurt," Maria replied.

Tess nodded, accepting that statement. "Maybe," she agreed. "But that's no reason not to try to get him to remember…"

"All you do is cause him more pain," Maria interrupted. "You aren't the only one who's hurting here, Tess. If you really loved Max, you'd have let him go by now."

Tess stood up and laughed shakily. "If you really think that, then you don't know the first thing about love."

"Everything was fine until you came here with your penchant for 'destiny' and desire to ruin our lives," Maria snapped back. "Why can't you just leave them alone? Leave _us_ alone?"

Tess turned and looked at the sunset. "You can demonize me all you want, but I'm not the cause of all the problems. I did not make Max a king. He would already be one, whether or not I was here."

"But if you didn't harp on destiny, he would have the chance to be a teenager as well," Maria pointed out reasonably. "If you didn't continually demand that you belonged together…"

"We do belong together," Tess cut in. "But even if we didn't, it would still be my obligation to get him to remember his past."

"Why?" Maria demanded. "Why cause him that pain? How is that fair?"

"We are in the middle of a war, Maria. It isn't supposed to be fair." Tess glanced back at the blonde human. "Even if I didn't love Max, even if I wanted him to be with Liz, even if I hadn't been raised by Nasedo, even if I had a human family, it would still be my obligation to help the people on Antar who are dying in this war. That's why I can't let Max forget who he really is. That's why we can't let ourselves become human. That's why we have to always try for something more. Because if we don't, than we are nothing more than a waste of human and alien DNA."

Tess studied Maria's features for a moment, wondering if the other girl understood. But Maria said nothing, just gave Tess a hard stare and walked away. She had only taken a few steps, however, before she turned and looked back at Tess. "You know, you could fight the war without forcing your way in between Max and Liz. Max could be the king without you as his Queen."

Tess bit her lip, the words piercing a whole in her heart. Not because they were cruel or bitter or calculated. But because they were true.

And that was what scared her most of all.

* * *

Nicolas frowned as the other skin approached him and bowed. "What is it, Frenxi?" he asked coolly, barely glancing up from the table in front of him. It was covered with scattered papers and maps, and he pushed them aside carelessly as he thought over the latest development in his plans.

"There is news, Sir," the skin replied.

Nicolas raised an eyebrow. "What news?" he asked quietly. Some sixth sense told him that the news was not anything he would want to hear, and it worried him.

"The dupe Queen is dead."

Nicolas sighed and closed his eyes, massaging his temples as a migraine threatened to form. It was sooner than they had hoped, which meant that the Seeker must have now realized that he had been sent after the wrong Queen.

The Seeker had a right to seek out the Queen. He had earned that right, fair and square. But if he attacked the true Queen now, it would disrupt all of Khivar's plans. And that would be too costly.

No, the Seeker had to be stopped.

But how?

They couldn't order him to stop. He was not under Khivar's control, and his mission was supported by the Intergalactic Council.

Well, most of it was. The Council believed that he was going to the hybrid Queen to demand reparations for what had happened all those years ago. But Nicolas and Khivar knew better. They knew that the Seeker was out for blood.

Ava's blood.

However, informing the Council that the Seeker was not abiding by their laws would mean admitting that he had helped the Seeker locate the hybrids. And that was a violation of Intergalactic law. The Seeker had to do his work without any outside help, including help from the target's enemies. The Council would declare the mission unlawful and demand that Khivar pay heavy retribution for betraying them.

No, that would not work either.

This needed to be taken care of quietly.

But how much time did they have?

* * *

Tess walked in the door of the Valenti's house and closed it behind her. Kyle and Valenti were both sitting on the sofa, and Kyle looked up sharply as she entered.

"Thanks for asking if you could borrow the car," he snapped.

Tess ignored him, walking past them both and slipping into her bedroom.

After talking to Maria, she had walked back to the car and driven out to the pod chamber. Instead of entering, she had simply stood outside the cave and stared at it for a long time before heading home.

And now she was back here, the last place she wanted to be.

Kyle appeared in the doorway to the room, concern on his features. "You alright?" he asked, his previous displeasure gone.

"Yeah, I just…" Tess glanced over at Kyle and shrugged. "Sometimes I feel like I could disappear and nobody would even notice, let alone care."

Kyle stared at Tess for a moment, wondering vaguely how to put his thoughts into a coherent sentence. How could he explain to Tess that she had done everything for them? How could he describe what his life had been like before she came? How could he tell her that for the first time since his mother walked out on them, he and his father actually felt like they were a family?

He couldn't say it. So he didn't. Instead, he said simply, "I would miss you if you left." It wasn't a long proclamation of her importance, it wasn't a promise for a better future, it wasn't even completely the truth. They would more than miss her, they would fall apart without her.

But it was all he could force himself to say.

Tess stared at him for a moment, then licked her dry lips and nodded.

One person who would miss her…

It was enough of a reason not to give up yet.

* * *

It's a quarter.

Twenty-five cents.

It won't even buy a bottle of water.

But it is a small reminder that yes, we do see you, even if we can't do much about it.

So how much is that quarter really worth?

* * *

Author's note: So, the whole thing about the Seeker is a bit cryptic at this point, but it will be explained later on in the story, and hopefully then it will make sense. 


	4. HalfEmpty, HalfFull

Title: Providence

Disclaimer: I don't own anything

Author's note: I don't really know what to say about this chapter except that it is really strange. With all my other stories, I at least have an idea of where I am headed, but with this one, I am figuring the plot out as I write. So when I sat down to write this chapter, I had no idea what it was going to end up like. And it ended up weird. It is a different format than the other chapters, and jumps around between flashbacks, and an actual plotline, and people's musings about everything. But I hope it is still coherent.

* * *

Chapter Four: Half-Empty, Half-Full

If you give something a name, you give it power. And with that power, it can inspire fear or hope.

It's like the thing with the glass.

So, there's this glass, right? And it's got this stuff in it; water, or milk, maybe. I don't know, just… a liquid of some sort. And the glass is sitting on this table, and a whole bunch of people are looking at it, trying to describe it. Because for some strange reason, they have nothing better to do.

Is it half-empty? Is it half-full?

Does it really matter? No matter what you call the glass, it still has the same amount of liquid in it. A rose by any other name would smell as sweet. A half-full glass is still half-empty.

Of course, some people would argue with that. If you put a positive spin on something, then it makes it better because you are looking at it in a better light. And I don't think anyone denies the power of optimism.

But optimism is different from idealism. Optimism is not naïve. Optimism admits that there are some things that, no matter what you call them, are always going to be the same thing. All the sugar in the world won't change those lemons into lemonade.

Again, that isn't quite true. But the thing is, you can't make lemonade without sugar. Or, at least, you can't make _good_ lemonade without sugar. So, if life gives you lemons, you can't make lemonade unless life gave you sugar also. And if life gave you sugar, then you might as well toss out the lemons and use the sugar to make cookies.

They taste better than lemonade anyway.

* * *

He touched his hand to the wall and watched in quiet satisfaction as the bus pulled into the station. He glanced down at the ticket in his hand and shook his head slowly, fingering the smooth paper. He was close, so close… 

The bus pulled to a stop near the front of the station, and several people climbed out of it. He watched each of them, years of combat forcing him to mentally appraise each person as they approached.

The first was a tall man with a decidedly dangerous aura about him. His eyes were dark and narrow, and squinted together as he stepped into the light. He was wearing a ratted jacket with holes in one elbow and long cargo pants. He was not someone you wanted to get into a fight with.

The second person to emerge from the bus was a younger girl. She was maybe twenty, with red hair and green eyes, her pale face covered in freckles. She looked naïve, walked as though she had never been out on her own before. She carried a backpack over her shoulder and held a blue sweater tightly against her chest.

And old lady followed, then a business man, then a middle-aged woman with two screaming kids…

He watched them leave the station and shook his head, clearing away the unnecessary thoughts. He did not need to wonder if these people were his enemies, he knew they were not. They were simply humans, pitiful inhabitants of the planet Earth. They were no threat to him.

But decades of war changed a man, and he had been changed.

He walked towards the bus.

He wanted blood, and he would have blood. Too long he had waited, endured the cruel and unfair punishment imposed upon him by the Queen. But not this time. This time he would be the victor, and they would be the victims.

He smirked in satisfaction as he boarded the bus and handed the ticket to the driver. The driver glanced down at the ticket, then looked up and studied his newest passenger. "Roswell, eh?" the driver asked in a heavy Southern accent. "That's a long drive, you know. Cross country, and you'll have to change a few times because we don't go straight…"

The Seeker nodded wordlessly. He didn't care how long it took. He had waited this long already, he could wait a little more.

He turned and walked to his seat. A few minutes later the bus roared to life, and pulled out of the station. The Seeker stared out of his window, watching the landscape fly by, his mind on other thoughts.

"_Welcome, Seeker."_

_The Seeker bowed his head in the traditional greeting, his eyes glowing with anticipation as he took a seat before the Intergalactic Council._

"_Thank you, Councilman," the Seeker murmured in quiet deference._

"_You are here to discuss the reparations entitled to you by Article Seven of the Intergalactic Accord…" the Councilman stated as he read the petition before you._

"_I am."_

"_We have discussed your case thoroughly, and find you stance to be just," the Councilman continued. He looked up at the Seeker. "You have been hurt, and so shall you be compensated by the Queen of Antar. If she is unable to meet the demands specified by the second section of Article Seven, you may take your case to the King of Antar."_

_Another Councilman leaned forward and said, "Be wary, though, Seeker, that you may have no help in this. It is your task to fulfill, and no country or planet may aid you. Do you understand and accept the terms of this command?"_

"_I hear, I understand, and I accept," the Seeker answered smoothly._

"_You may go," the first Councilman said again, and the Seeker rose and left the room quietly. In the hallway, he allowed himself a brief smile of victory, before heading quickly towards the exit of the Council Building. He had not taken more than a few steps, however, when a voice called him back._

"_Seeker."_

_The Seeker turned. A man was standing there, behind him, half hidden by the shadows. His eyes were cold and calculating, and his lips were twisted into an icy smirk. The Seeker did not recognize him._

"_Who are you?" the Seeker demanded._

"_Who I am is not important," the man answered, waving a hand aside. "What matters is who I work for." He stepped further into the light, his face illuminated. "Lord Khivar, new King of Antar, is most interested in your request for reparations against the old Queen."_

"_Is he?" the Seeker asked coolly. "I am not interested in his opinion on the matter."_

"_You won't find the Queen without his help," the man countered. _

"_I know that she is on Earth," the Seeker replied with a disdainful smile._

_The man nodded. "Then perhaps you will find her and be able to kill her swiftly." The Seeker stiffened noticeably, and the man asked innocently, "You are seeking her death, are you not?"_

"_The Seventh Article of the…"_

"_I know what the Article says," the man replied dismissively. "I also know what your intentions are." He narrowed his eyes. "And it won't be long before the Council realizes that you do not intend to abide by the rules. How do you think they will react to that?"_

"_Is that a threat?" the Seeker demanded._

"_Of course not," the first man replied quickly, giving a wholly untrustworthy smile. "Consider it a friendly warning."_

"_Why do you offer to help and threaten me at the same time?" the Seeker hissed, not pleased with the conversation. But he knew this man could be enough of a threat that it would be unwise to walk away now._

"_I do no such thing," the man insisted. He sighed. "It would appear, Seeker, that we started this conversation badly. I only wish to point out to you that the Council will keep a strict eye on you. If you wish to kill the Queen, and successfully escape Intergalactic punishment, you will need our help."_

_The Seeker hesitated. He had, in truth, always assumed he would get caught after he brought about his revenge. And now this man was offering him a way out… A chance to live and to enjoy the vengeance that he had inflicted. But he was loathe to trust this man who he did not know. "What makes you think that the Council will interfere? They did nothing when you Lord Khivar killed the Royals in the first war."_

_The man sneered. "The Council only oversees relations between planets, not relations within the planets themselves. Lord Khivar was an Antarian, and as such, the war we fought was a Civil War, and out of the Council's jurisdiction." He paused and licked his lips, picking his next words carefully. "But it is different with Seekers, especially ones such as you who are not from the same planet as their targets. They are under the Council's authority, and the Council could not afford to let you go unpunished should you break their laws. It would not do to give the impression that anyone could seek revenge and not have to follow the intergalactic laws set down by the First Council. The interplanetary system would fall into chaos."_

"_And you offer to help me?" the Seeker murmured thoughtfully._

"_If you would but listen to our proposition?" the man replied._

_The Seeker nodded. "Do you have a name?" he asked. "I won't work with a phantom."_

"_You may call me Nicolas," the man answered._

But Nicolas had betrayed him, sent him after the wrong hybrid Queen. The Seeker wondered vaguely why this had been the case. What did Khivar and his skins stand to gain by misleading him? He pondered the question for a moment, but came up with no answer. They were obviously planning something, and perhaps his presence would cause complications they did not want?

He shook his head. He had waited too long for this, and he would not let Khivar or Nicolas stop him now. He would kill the Queen, and if the skins tried to stop him…

He would kill them as well.

* * *

Max's POV 

She called it Destiny, and I ran from it in horror. I called it horrible, and unbearable, and unthinkable. I called it a lie, a lie of omission, a half-truth, a manipulation of the truth. I called my attraction a mind-warp, I called my dreams random and unwanted. I proclaimed my love for another woman, time and again. And I called her my soul mate.

And I love Liz. I really do.

The problem is, I don't _not_ love Tess.

What I feel for Tess is difficult to describe. I remember her. Well, not all of her, just bits and pieces, flashes of the person she once was. I remember her laugh and her smile and the way her eyes sparkled with warmth and light when she spoke of her family. I remember the way she would look over at me shyly, the slight curve of her lips when she caught my eye. I remember the fire that burned within her, the passion that I had spent my life searching for. I remember the understanding and compassion she had, I remember her thirst for knowledge and her hunger for justice and mercy.

And I remember the bad things about her. I remember the way her temper would flare unpredictably, I remember her slender fingers curling into angry fists, I remember the way she would hold a grudge, never forgiving and never forgetting. I remember the drive that forced her to disregard her subjects if they stood in the way of something she deemed essential.

I remember _her_.

But I don't want it. How do I explain that to her? That I may love her, but I don't want to love her? How do I tell her that I refuse to accept Destiny? How do I tell her?

Apparently I do it very badly.

She's not speaking to me. She hasn't said more than one word to me since our argument yesterday. She avoids us all, slipping unnoticed into class and taking a seat close to Kyle, as far away from all of us as possible. She looks at her books when we try to catch her eyes, pretends not hear us when we call her name. It is almost as though she wants to be invisible.

She's hurt. I know that. I know that I hurt her.

But I _don't_ want to be with her.

And I don't know how to make that not hurt.

I look across the room, and I see Liz bending over her desk, brown hair falling across her face and blocking her features from view. But I don't have to see her features, I know what they look like. I've memorized them, from the soft brown of her eyes to the cheekbones, to the smooth skin. Her hair is glossy, and I know it is silky to the touch.

I _know_ Liz.

I know her passion for science, and her fierce protectiveness of her friends. I know that she loves her family and writing in her journal. I know that she will protect out secret at all costs. When we kiss, I see flashes of Liz. Of who she is and what she thinks and feels. And I know her.

Liz glances up and catches my eye, a slight blush creeping onto her face. She looks away hurriedly, back towards her notes, and I know she is trying to concentrate on what the teacher is saying. But she isn't thinking about the teacher. I can tell that by the way she keeps shifting in her seat, they way she plays with one strand of hair, the way she chews on her bottom lip to prevent a smile from appearing on her face.

And I know what she is thinking about. The blush is still there, and every now and then she glances towards Maria, a knowing look in her eyes. Maria is smirking about something, and although I am not sure what, I have a fairly good idea that they are having a silent conversation.

About me.

And I know that I am right when they both turn and glance at me at the same time. And I feel a blush heat up my face, and shake my head, turning my eyes back to the notes in front of me.

But after a moment, I look over at Tess. She is staring at the teacher, but she is not taking notes. I can't tell if she is listening. I can't tell what she is thinking. I can't read her. I don't know how.

I don't know her.

But as I look at her, I see something else. I see her standing by the ocean, her long hair flowing behind her in the wind. She's dressed all in white, and her feet are bare. Above her, the sun casts a bright yellow light on the world, making her golden hair glow. Her eyes sparkle at the beauty before her, at the sea which stretches out to the distant horizon.

I shake my head. That is a different Tess, from a different time, when I was a different person. I don't know that Tess, just like I don't know this one. She's just a vision, a dream that haunts me when I least expect it.

She called it Destiny, I called it a lie.

The thing is, it might be a lie, but it is still Destiny.

And sometimes I wonder whether or not I am the one lying.

I love Liz.

But is that enough?

God, I hope so.

* * *

Isabel's POV 

I don't remember Alex being this confident. I don't remember feeling this way about him. He was always just… Alex. He was Maria's and Liz's friend, and one of the few people who kept our secret. Eventually he was our friend as well, but he was still Alex.

Now he's… I don't know how to describe it. He's changed so much. Sweden was good for him, I see that now. He is different around me. He is not so flustered, and he… He just… He knows what he is saying and he has strong opinions and…

It's a nice change.

A _very_ nice change.

He drops his lunch onto the table in front of me. He would never have done that before. Unless Maria or Liz were here. He never had the courage to eat just with me.

I ask him how his day was, and he makes some dry comment about his computer science teacher. And I laugh. He's still the same Alex, just… better.

I think Liz and Maria noticed it as well. I've heard them whispered about it in the halls. I've seen the looks they give us when we are together. They wanted Alex and I to be together because that was what Alex wanted.

It just wasn't what I wanted.

Until now.

This Alex is…

I don't know what to say. I don't know how to explain it. I love him.

But why is there this apprehension building in my stomach? I mentioned it to Max last night, and he was concerned. I don't think he actually believed me when I told him that I sensed something was wrong, but I think he knew that he had to at least consider the possibility.

But nothing is wrong with Alex. How could anything be wrong with him?

I am just taking fear of something else and displacing it into my relationship with him.

At least, that's what Michael said when I mentioned it to him.

I always was commitment-phobic.

Of course, that, coming from Michael, was ironic.

Because he's never been afraid of commitment.

Insert sarcasm here.

Perhaps I am just being paranoid. That's what Max thought. I have a habit of expecting trouble when things get too quiet. Max says it isn't a good idea to go looking for trouble.

Of course, I'm not the one who healed a girl in front of an entire diner.

So we have come to the conclusion that I am a paranoid, commitment-phobic, alien.

Huh.

You try spending seventeen years worrying about the FBI finding out what you are and deciding to dissect you just to see if you bleed, then discover that you are actually a Princess, a traitor, and that there are a whole bunch of enemy aliens trying to kill you…

See how well you take it.

I doubt I would be the only paranoid commitment-phobic one in the group.

But, I am not the subject up for discussion right now. Alex is.

Which brings me back to my original statement.

I don't remember Alex being this… perfect. I don't remember feeling this way about him.

Maybe I am falling in love.

With Alex.

Which is _so_ weird.

I love Alex, I really do. But I can't help wondering what caused the change. It isn't that I don't like it, it isn't that it worries me, it isn't that I am paranoid or afraid of commitment. It's just…

I don't know what it is. I just feel… I don't know. This is frustrating. I can't even put words to what I feel. But I just don't know how to describe it.

It doesn't matter. I give Alex a smile as I continue to eat lunch. It doesn't matter if I can describe it. It doesn't matter if I can put words to it. It doesn't matter what I say, because no matter what, it is still Alex.

_My_ Alex.

And words don't change that.

Right?

* * *

"Hey, Tess," a voice said cheerfully. 

Tess turned and looked in surprise at the woman standing behind her in the line at the grocery store. She had gone there to buy some food for dinner, knowing that if she didn't do it, they would be eating cold cereal without milk that night. She did not particularly want to run into anyone she would be required to speak to, but unfortunately Roswell was a small enough town and she couldn't avoid everyone.

"Hello, Mrs. Evans," Tess said politely. "How are you?"

"I'm doing well, Tess. How are you?" Mrs. Evans asked.

"I'm fine," Tess lied.

"We don't see you around the house anymore," Mrs. Evans remarked. "Do you still hang out with Max and Isabel?"

"Yes," Tess lied again. Well, it wasn't a complete lie, but it was close to one. "Mostly at the Crashdown, though."

"Of course," Mrs. Evans said with a nod. "Max is so happy now. It is good to see him back to his cheerful self. He was getting depressed, and I was worried about him." She gave Tess a conspiratorial smile. "But I take it he and Liz finally worked through their problems?"

Tess felt a bitter taste fill her mouth. "Yes," she managed to say. "They did."

"Well, that is good. Everyone deserves a little happiness," Mrs. Evans smiled.

"Some of us get it more than others," Tess commented before she could stop herself.

Mrs. Evans raised an eyebrow. "Did you have a falling out with a boyfriend?" she asked sympathetically.

"Uh… I'm not dating. I just… I had a disagreement with some of my friends," Tess stuttered, blushing slightly. How much more awkward could this conversation get?

"Oh, I am sorry to hear that," Mrs. Evans clicked her tongue against her teeth sympathetically. "I know how stressful that can be. But I am sure if they are good friends, you will be able to resolve the issue."

"I hope so," Tess replied fervently. Although she hated to admit it, she did actually want to be friends with the other hybrids and their human friends.

"It will all work out," Mrs. Evans assured her confidently. "I know when you are young these things can seem like the end of the world. But it isn't, trust me." She looked at Tess for a moment, then said, "These things seem worse than they actually are."

Tess nodded thoughtfully, considering Mrs. Evans words.

Mrs. Evans nodded to Tess and said, "You're up next, Tess."

Tess turned and placed her items on the conveyer belt, watching as the clerk rang them up. She handed over the money and grabbed her groceries, then turned to leave.

"Tess?" Mrs. Evans called. Tess turned, and Mrs. Evans said, "I know its hard. But is you are meant to be friends with these people, then you will be. It may take a while to get over the disagreement, so don't force it. Just let it happen. And it will happen eventually, I promise." She gave Tess a brief smile.

Tess nodded and turned to leave. She had taken a few steps before she paused and glanced over her shoulder. "Mrs. Evans?" She hesitated, then said, "Thank you."

Mrs. Evans just smiled.

* * *

The glass isn't half-empty and it isn't half-full. It's just a glass with liquid in it, and you take it for what it is, and learn to live with that. 

What else can you do?


	5. Voices

Title: Providence

Disclaimer: I don't own anything

Author's note: This chapter is shorter than usual, so I'll try to have another update soon. Although I can't make any promises… Also, not much happens in this chapter, it is more filler than anything else, but the next chapter should have more action.

* * *

Chapter Five: Voices

Somewhere deep inside each person is a little voice. That voice is our instinct, our gut feeling. It tells us what to do when we are facing a difficult decision. It screams at us when we are in danger and have to make a split-second decision. It whispers advice when we meet friends are coworkers. It suggests ways to impress our boss or negotiate with our parents.

We don't hear it that often. Sometimes, when it screams, we know it is there. But more often than not, the voice is too quiet, and more often than not, we don't want to hear it anyway.

So we don't.

Or if we do, we soon forget its advice, and move on with the life we _want_, rather than the one we know we should have.

Trust your instinct. Trust your gut. Trust that quiet voice.

Sooner or later, you will regret having ignored it.

* * *

Isabel twisted and turned in bed, caught in a dream she couldn't escape. In the recesses of her mind, something haunted her. It lingered just far enough away from her consciousness that she couldn't identify it, but still close enough that it inspired fear. She was running from it through the dark emptiness that stretched out around her, through the memories that played in front of her closed eyes while she slept. It wasn't a part of her dream, but it was still there, still waiting and watching, still following her every step.

She gasped suddenly, painfully, and opened her eyes, rolling over to her side and pushing herself into a sitting position. The dream faded away, and the presence slipped through her grasp. She tried in vain to hold on to it, to the strange feeling, but it was gone, and abruptly she couldn't remember why she had woken up.

She glanced over at the clock. It was six o'clock, and she would have to get up in half and hour anyway. Yawning, she pushed the covers aside and placed her feet firmly on the cold wood floor. She walked to the door of her bedroom and out into the hall. The light coming out from the door at the end of the hallway signaled that her brother was up, and she debated knocking on his door. But she decided against it and turned to go down the stairs instead.

In the kitchen, she grabbed a bottle of water from the refrigerator and sat down on a chair near the table. She yawned again and gulped some of the cold water. Then she reached for the phone, and without really thinking about what she was doing, she punched in a number. She held the phone to her ear and listened to the rings at the other end, realizing as she did so that it was way to early to be calling people.

"Hello?" a voice answered the phone, groggy and weary from sleep.

"Hey, Alex," Isabel murmured, smiling as she pictured him sitting in bed, his hair sticking up in strange directions.

"It's really early," Alex grumbled.

"Yeah, I know. I'm sorry, I shouldn't have called. I can hang up now…"

"No," Alex said quickly. "That's alright. I mean, you already woke me up, we might as well talk now." There was a silence, then Alex asked, "So why are you awake now?"

"I'm not sure," Isabel admitted. I just… there was something that I… I can't remember." Isabel frowned, running a hand through her hair and trying to come up with the reason she had woken up. She knew it had something to do with a dream, or a feeling, or… _something_, she just couldn't remember what it was. Every time she got too close to the answer, it slipped away again.

"Isabel? Izzy? Are you okay?" Alex asked, noting that Isabel had lapsed into silence.

"Yeah," Isabel said. She sighed and rubbed her eyes. "I just… I guess I'm just tired. I didn't sleep well." She clutched the phone tighter. "I'm sorry for waking you up."

"That's alright," Alex replied. "It's not really a big deal."

They talked for a few more minutes, then Isabel hung up the phone and started to make breakfast for herself. On the other side of the town, Alex stared at the phone for a moment, a smile on his face, then he looked down at the yearbook on his lap. It was open to Isabel's picture.

He smiled and closed the yearbook with a snap.

* * *

Maria leaned against the locker and watched as Michael approached her. She tilted her head to one side, causing her blonde hair to fall in front of her eyes. Pushing the hair out of the way, she smiled slightly as her boyfriend stopped in front of her.

"What do you say we skip History today?" Michael suggested.

"And do what?" Maria questioned, raising her eyebrows at Michael's suggestive smirk. "Do you ever think of anything besides the eraser room?"

Michael laughed. "Yes. I think of you," Michael answered. He placed his hand against one of the lockers and leaned in so that he was only a few inches away from Maria. "You in the eraser room."

Maria slapped him lightly and shook her head. "I don't know…" she started to protest Michael's choice of activities, when the tall hybrid leaned over and kissed her.

Michael pulled back a moment later. "Still having doubts?" he asked.

Maria shook her head wordlessly, her eyes traveling to something behind Michael. Michael frowned at her and turned, following her gaze. Their History teacher was standing there, her hands on her hips, staring at them coolly.

"Uh…" Michael stuttered for a moment, then slanted a look at Maria. Maria stifled a giggle, and the two of them slipped past the disapproving teacher and headed towards the classroom.

In the classroom, they took seats at the back of the room, side by side, next to Liz and Isabel. Isabel turned and looked at Michael, and suddenly started smirking.

"Nice look," she commented, nodding her head towards Michael's mouth. "That shade of lipstick is very becoming."

Michael reached up and quickly wiped Maria's pink lipstick from his lips while Liz burst into a fit of giggles and Isabel rolled her eyes. Michael glared at the two of them, but then Maria started laughing as well, and he sighed and turned his attention towards the front of the class.

Isabel leaned across the space between the desks and put her hand on Michael's arm. "Although," she whispered, "I think you might want to go with a shade that had a little more brown to it. The pink isn't quite you."

Michael slapped her hand away and glared at her. She smiled innocently back at him.

And suddenly Michael saw something in her. Something different, something he didn't quite understand. Something older and wiser, and even more beautiful, like a phantom ghost that blended with her features. But as soon as he saw it, it faded away, leaving Michael to wonder if he had imagined it all.

Michael blinked and turned away, trying to clear his confused thoughts. He had just imagined it, he decided. His mind was playing tricks on him, and whatever he thought he saw wasn't really there.

But a strange scent lingered in the air, vanilla and cinnamon and something else, something foreign, yet familiar, something exotic and intriguing.

* * *

"You are such an idiot!" Tess laughed, shoving open the door to the classroom and stepping inside, Kyle following her. It was lunch, and Tess and Kyle had been planning on eating together, when Tess suddenly remembered that she left her history book in class, and they had gone back to get it.

"I'm not an idiot," Kyle shot back in mock anger. "It was a perfectly logical conclusion to come to." He crossed his arms over his chest in a defensive manner and glared at Tess.

Tess giggled slightly and shook her head, blonde curls bouncing about her shoulders. "Of course it was," she answered sarcastically. She turned away from Kyle and looked around the room. "It was perfectly logical to assume that…" Her words died away, caught in her throat as she stared at the spectacle she had just interrupted.

Kyle followed her gaze and his jaw dropped.

Max and Liz were standing in the far corner of the room. The light of the window fell across Liz's hair as she pushed it back from her face and turned to look at the intruders. Her lip gloss was smudged and some of the purple had rubbed off on Max's lips. Her face was flushed, but whether it was from embarrassment or the kiss she had so obviously been in the middle of, Tess had no idea.

Kyle glanced over at Tess and heard her mumbled distinctly, "I have the worst luck."

"Tess, Kyle," Max said, wiping the back of his hand hurriedly across his mouth and nodding to he fourth hybrid and her sort-of brother. "Were you looking for us?"

"No, just… book," Tess stuttered, her voice choked with emotion. She hurried over to the desk she had been sitting at earlier and grabbed her book, then glanced over at Max and Liz again. "Sorry about that." She turned and looked at Kyle. "We can go now."

"Right," Kyle agreed, his eyes fixed on Max in a heated stare.

Liz shifted uncomfortably as she watched Tess and Kyle backtrack quickly. The two exited the room, but Liz could suddenly feel their presence lingering behind like a shadow.

Outside, Tess shut the door a bit more sharply than she had intended and took a few steps away from the room. Tears appeared in her weary eyes, but she blinked them back. She knew Max was with Liz know, she had known it for days. It shouldn't come as a shock to her then, walking in on them kissing.

But it did surprise her.

And it did hurt.

"Tess?"

She had an entire plan, a way of moving on past Max. She was trying to start over, to put the past behind her. If she was meant to be with him, then sooner or later they would end up together, and all she had to do was wait. And if they weren't… well, she was trying to move on.

But every time she saw Max and Liz together, it might it that much harder for her to move on.

"Tess?" Kyle repeated in concern.

"I'm fine, Kyle," Tess said, giving Kyle a forced smile. She took a deep breath and changed the subject. "You really were an idiot."

Kyle laughed, accepting her attempt to change the subject, and they returned to their earlier argument.

* * *

"You alright, Max?" Isabel asked, frowning at her brother as he approached her at her locker. Another long day of school was over, and she was ready to get out of the building and do something fun. Hopefully something that involved Alex.

Max slumped against the locker. "Tess walked in on Liz and I in the history classroom," Max replied glumly. He pulled his backpack onto his back and waited for his sister to remove the rest of her belongings from her locker.

"So?" Isabel asked, not understanding.

Max slanted a look at Isabel. "It was an empty classroom," he continued. "It was lunch." He looked at her pointedly, waiting until understanding dawned in her eyes.

Her eyebrows shot up in the air. "That must have been…"

"Awkward?" Max suggested. "Embarrassing? Uncomfortable?" He rubbed his eyes. "Yes, it was all of those."

"I'm sorry," Isabel said sympathetically. "I know it is really hard for you to pursue a relationship with Liz with Tess here." She watched Max's expression for a moment, noting the way he flinched slightly at Tess' name. She frowned, puzzled as to the reaction. Then she realized what it was.

He felt guilty.

He felt guilty for hurting _Tess_.

Isabel was stunned by the sudden realization, and she said nothing. Instead she closed her locker and glanced around the hallway.

"Do you have plans?" Max asked.

"I'm probably just going to the Crashdown," Isabel replied. "Hopefully with Alex."

Max nodded absently as his gaze wandered to Liz, who had just appeared at the end of the hall. "Okay," he replied. "I'll see you later then," and he left, making his way towards the brunette human.

Isabel watched him go for a moment, her expression pensive.

"Penny for your thoughts?"

Isabel started, having not heard Michael approach her. She sighed and shook her head as she looked at him. "I just… I don't think we've heard the last of Destiny." She turned and walked away, leaving Michael to stare after her.

And as he did, he suddenly saw a flash of thick jello-like water and a strangely familiar blood red sky.


	6. The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down

Title: Providence

Disclaimer: I don't own anything

Author's Note: So this chapter pretty much throws us headlong into the adventure part of the story. Italics are thoughts, and pay attention to who's point of view it is. The title of the chapter is named after a book by Anne Fadiman. If you haven't read it you really should at some point in your life. Especially if you are at all interested in being a doctor. Or an anthropologist. Or an author. Or a journalist.

* * *

Chapter Six: The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down

Michael POV

Isabel leaned back on the sofa at Michael's apartment and shook her head, running a hand through her long blonde hair. She smiled at the hybrid general, who looked at her critically. The dark circles under her eyes were carefully covered with concealer, and her pale skin was warmed with a soft blush, but the exhaustion in her eyes revealed what she had tried so hard to hide.

_She looks worn out._ Michael handed her a glass of water and took a seat across from her on the edge of the coffee table. "Are you okay?" he asked. It had been two days since he had had those strange visions of what he could only assume was his past life, and although he had not had any more visions since then, he could still perfectly remembered what he had seen and felt.

Isabel shrugged. "I'm a little tired," she admitted. "I haven't been sleeping well."

Concern leapt into Michael's eyes. _I wonder if strange things are happening to her as well._ "Why not?"

"I don't know," Isabel said with a nonchalant shrug that did not quite convince Michael. "Just had trouble sleeping through the night. I've been restless, I guess."

_Riiiight. Does she actually think I'm going to believe that?_ "Anything alien related?" Michael questioned, wondering if he should call Max.

"No," Isabel replied a little too quickly. She stood up abruptly and began to pace the room. "No, nothing like that."

Michael nodded, deciding not to push her on the subject. _Besides, I can mention it to Max later, and he can keep an eye on Isabel to make sure it isn't something seriously wrong._

"Is Maria coming over today?" Isabel asked, breaking the silence that had fallen.

Michael stared at her in surprise, confused by the non-sequitur. _What does Maria have to do with anything?_ "No, not today. She took an extra shift at the Crashdown," Michael said.

"Oh," Isabel said quietly. She ran a hand through her hair and blinked a couple times as her vision blurred slightly from exhaustion. She sank back onto the cushions of Michael's sofa and said, "Alex and I are supposed to go out tonight, but I'm so tired…"

"You should sleep instead," Michael said quickly, trying to convince himself that his advice to cancel with Alex the date was only based on the fact that she was tired. He shook his head and turned away from her, his eyes landing on a picture of Maria propped up on his coffee table. He swallowed as he reached for it, strange feelings rising in his chest. _I love Maria. She's annoying and a control-freak, but I love her._

"But I want to see Alex," Isabel replied, her eyes closed so that she could not see that Michael's attention had wandered.

Michael glanced over at the girl he had always thought of as a sister and frowned, but said nothing. He put the picture of Maria back on the table and shifted his weight slightly. As he did, there was a sharp knock on the door, and Michael stood up to answer it.

Isabel opened her eyes and twisted in her seat, watching as Michael pulled the door open to reveal the fourth alien standing in the hallway.

"Hey, Tess," Michael said, stepping aside and letting her enter. _I wonder what she is doing here? Did something happen? _"What's up?"

"I think I left my blue sweater here when I came by yesterday," Tess replied, her eyes scanning the room. She paused briefly to give Isabel a friendly nod, then strode over to one of the chairs and grabbed a blue sweater that was lying across the cushions.

"Oh, okay," Michael said.

"Why were you here yesterday?" Isabel asked. Her tone was probably more accusatory than she had wanted it to be, and Tess flinched slightly.

"I was helping Michael practice controlling his powers," Tess replied evenly.

"Oh?" Isabel glanced over at Michael. "I didn't realize the two of you were training together."

Michael met her gaze with a stone mask. "We are," he said simply. _Just because our great leader doesn't want to think about the enemies out there, doesn't mean we are all as blind._

"Max said…" Isabel started, but Michael cut her off.

"Max said we needed to be discreet. He didn't say we couldn't train," Michael pointed out. "I thought you agreed with that?"

"Of course," Isabel replied, flustered. "I just…"

_You just want a normal life with Alex._ "Someone has to be prepared for when we get attacked."

"You make it sound like it is inevitable," Isabel asked.

Tess, who had been listening to the entire exchange in silence, chose that moment to speak us. "Isn't it?" Isabel and Michael turned to look at her, and she continued, "Just because we want to avoid trouble doesn't mean we are actually going to avoid it."

"If we are careful enough…" Isabel started, but Tess shook her head.

"Careful isn't going to stop Khivar from coming after us. He is to determined to give up, no matter how well we hide." She sighed and looked down at the sweater, playing with the folds of fabric for a moment. "It takes two peoples to make peace, Isabel, but only one to make war."

"Giving me platitudes?" Isabel asked, her voice slightly mocking. "A little cliché, don't you think?"

"Maybe, but it is true," Tess countered. "How else would it have become a cliché?"

Michael stared at the two arguing girls for a moment, surprised. Tess and Isabel had usually gotten along the best, and he was stunned to see them disagreeing with each other so vehemently. _But Tess is very determined to remember that we are part alien, and Isabel really wants a normal life. I guess it was only a matter of time before that conflict came to head._

"Oh, please, you're just afraid of being human, of being normal," Isabel snapped. She stood up and turned to Michael. "I'll see you around," she said, turning and stalking from the room. As Michael watched her slam the door, he had a sudden vision of a different Isabel doing the same thing in a different place. The door slam echoed as the memory of Isabel, dressed in silk and jewels, faded away.

"Michael?"

Tess' hesitant voice cut through Michael's thoughts, and he turned to look at her. "Yeah?"

"You okay? You look kind of lost," Tess asked.

Michael shook his head. _What are these memories? Are they actually memories or just…_ He narrowed his eyes at Tess for a moment, then immediately dismissed the thought. He had seen these visions of Isabel even when Tess wasn't around, he couldn't leap to the conclusion that it was a mind-warp.

"I'm fine," Michael said at last.

"I'm sorry I ended your hanging out with Isabel," Tess apologized softly as she headed to the door.

"Well, Isabel is partially to blame as well," Michael said with a shrug. _We're all falling apart. How much longer before our group is completely gone?_ "She just wants a normal life," Michael said after a moment, wondering why he was defending Isabel. Why did it matter so much to him that Tess didn't think to badly of her?

"I know," Tess said. "She wants to be with Alex."

"It's just an infatuation," Michael said, dismissing the comment carelessly.

Tess gave Michael an unreadable look. "She's in love," the blonde hybrid countered before leaving Michael alone in his apartment.

Michael nodded. He knew that was the case, he had seen it in her eyes every time she looked at him. But something about it seemed wrong to him. Isabel had never been in love with Alex before, not as wholly and completely as she was now.

What had changed her opinion?

* * *

Isabel POV

"What makes her think she can just barge in her and turn our lives upside down with her talk of destiny?" Isabel fumed as she paced back and forth across the room. _What gives her the right to screw with all our lives?_

"She's been here for a year, Isabel, and I think she gave up on destiny already," Alex said softly.

"Why are you defending her?" Isabel snapped, spinning on her boyfriend angrily. _Do you want destiny? Do you want me to be with Michael?_

"I'm not," Alex said quickly. He stood up and walked across his bedroom floor to Isabel, placing a hand on her waist and pulling her towards him. "But I think you over overreacting a little. After all, she hasn't made any objections to us being together, has she? These past couple days she's barely even talked to us, or Max. She's hanging out with Kyle's friends now, and she seems to be happy."

_Yeah…_ "Fine," Isabel said slowly, reluctantly. "You're right…" Isabel pulled away from Alex and walked over to the bed, falling onto the blankets. "But she still pushes the whole alien thing. I just want to be normal, and she doesn't get that."

"I thought you were getting along fine with Tess?" Alex questioned as he took a seat next to her.

"I was…" Isabel rubbed her eyes. "Maybe if I was just getting more sleep…"

"Why aren't you sleeping?" Alex asked at once, concern in his voice.

"I don't know," Isabel replied. "Just… restless, I guess."

"Alien related?"

"Doubt it." _And now I'm lying to my boyfriend. Just like I lied to Michael. Great._ Isabel smiled at Alex and changed the subject. "Do you have any plans for tonight?"

"No, but I suppose we could make some," Alex replied with a smile. "Dinner and a movie?"

Isabel nodded. "Sounds wonderful," she said honestly. She reached out for Alex' hand, and as her skin brushed against him, some strange feeling rose up in her stomach and tightened around her heart. She knew instinctively that something had happened, something was happening, something was going to happen… something _important_.

Then the feeling passed.

"Are you okay?" Alex asked, and Isabel realized that some of what she had felt must have shown on her face. "Because if you aren't up to going out tonight, or if something alien related is happening, we can take a rain check."

"No, I'm fine," Isabel assured him. _I doubt it was anything important. I probably just imagined the feeling. And even if I didn't, even if it is real, our best bet is still to pretend like everything is normal. If we are discreet enough, we can avoid danger._

She stood up, and Alex followed her to the door.

* * *

Seeker POV

The Seeker stared around the parking lot of the bus station. The hot Roswell sun beat down on him, beads of sweat formed one his forehead and fell into his eyes, making them sting. He wasn't used to this kind of heat, but he didn't care. He had come this far, a little heat wasn't going to stop him.

He walked quickly from the lot, striding determinedly down the street. He knew that he could call a taxi to take him to his destination, but he had only a vague idea of how exactly one went about flagging down a taxi, and he did not want to do anything that would draw attention to the fact that he was clearly not from around here.

Besides, he did not mind the walk, long though it may be. It had been a while since he had enjoyed the fresh air and sunlight, and even the unpleasant heat was a welcome change from the monotony of the strictly-regulated temperature of space travel.

So he walked.

His clothes were soaked with sweat by the time he reached his destination, and he glanced down at them, worried. Slipping back into the alley behind the local diner, he waved a hand over his clothes, doing his best to clean them. Then he walked back out onto the street and stared through the window at the booths and tables of the Crashdown.

He pushed the door open and stepped into the mercifully air-conditioned room. The white tile of the floor was slightly sticky under his feet, but he ignored it and walked over to a table. Taking a seat in one of the chairs, he stared at the two waitresses who were taking orders. One of them walked towards him, a petite brunette with a pretty face and a bright smile. She fixed her doe-eyes on him and asked politely what he would like to order.

"A lemonade, please," the Seeker replied politely. The brunette looked down at her pad as she scribbled, and the Seeker leaned closer to read her name tag.

Liz Parker.

A human.

And yet…

The Seeker frowned slightly. There was something strange about this girl, it was as though she was almost alien. Well, that wasn't quite right. She was clearly completely human, but she had a mark on her.

The King's mark.

Liz turned and walked away, and the Seeker realized suddenly why she was marked. The King had _healed_ her. He had risked exposing himself and his family for this human girl?

The Seeker sighed and shook his head. So Nicolas had told the truth when he said that the Royals had befriended humans and revealed their true identity to these people. It made them weak, he thought derisively. Didn't they know that humans were lower creatures? Didn't they know that the inhabitants of this miserable planet weren't even worth their time?

The door behind him swung open, and he turned to look back. His eyes fell on the two people who had entered. One was a boy, a human, with brown hair and brown eyes and a football jersey slung over one arm. The other was a girl. Petite, with blonde curls and sapphire eyes.

Ava.

The Seeker breathed slowly, his eyes widening. To finally be so close to his intended target, to actually be in the same room as her…

"Here's your lemonade." The brunette waitress was back at his side with a glass of lemonade in her hands. He accepted it from her gratefully and took a sip of the juice, wondering how he could ask questions about the hybrid Queen without casting any suspicion on himself.

He wanted to exact his revenge, but he couldn't do it in broad daylight. He couldn't do it in any way that might lead the other three back to him. He wasn't strong enough to take them on by himself, he might not even be strong enough to take on the Queen. But he was relying on two pieces of information that Nicolas had given him; that the hybrids knew little about their pasts or how to control their powers, and that they wouldn't be expecting an attack so he would have the element of surprise.

He vaguely wondered again why Nicolas had lied to him, had sent him after the wrong Queen. But he pushed that thought away and shook his head. He didn't care what Khivar and Nicolas wanted, all that mattered to him was that he accomplished his goal.

To his surprise and pleasure, the human boy and the hybrid Queen took a seat at the table next to his. He could hear their conversation, and listened to it with growing interest.

"…but I'm just not really looking for a guy right now, Kyle," the Queen said as she took a seat.

The human named Kyle sighed and replied, "Tess, I thought you were getting over Max?" He sounded concerned and disappointed.

"I am," the hybrid named Tess shot back. "I'm moving on past Max, but that doesn't mean I want to be set up on a blind date. I'm sorry, I just…"

"It isn't a blind date," Kyle argued. "You _know_ Matt. You've hung out with him before. You like him."

"Kyle…"

"Come on, Tess. You can't more around forever," Kyle interrupted.

Tess sighed. "Fine," she said at last, giving in. "If it will make you stop nagging me, I will give a date with Matt a try."

Kyle grinned. "Wonderful," he said, sounding pleased with himself. "Now you don't have to watch Max and Liz give each other their trademark angsty, 'I love you more than life itself and I can see straight into your soul' looks."

Tess stifled a laugh and gave Kyle a radiant smile.

The Seeker finished his lemonade thoughtfully. So it was true that the hybrid King had fallen in love with a human girl, and that the Queen had been rejected.

Interesting.

He looked back down at his glass, and did not see the slightly suspicious look the hybrid Queen was giving him.

* * *

Max POV

"Seriously? You want us all to get worked up because you felt something strange about some random guy at the Crashdown?" Max asked incredulously. Tess had dropped by his house only moments ago, announcing that she needed to talk to him right away. She had unfolded a ridiculous story about her 'feelings' and she wanted him to call a meeting with the eight of them.

"Max, I'm not overreacting and I am not making this up," Tess argued. "Something is going to…"

"I don't care," Max cut across her sentence. She looked up at him with shocked and hurt eyes, and he sighed and relented, "Tess, I'm not saying I don't believe you." _I'm not saying I do believe you either…_ "But if we are in danger, our best bet is to act normal."

"No, Max, our best bet is to be prepared," Tess countered. "Michael agrees with me."

"Michael? You told him already?" Max was surprised. _You told Michael before you told me?_

"I called him on the way over," Tess replied, sounding a little reluctant. "He agreed that we should try to figure out what is going on before we get attacked."

"We don't even know if the person you saw was an enemy," Max retorted.

"Why won't you believe me?" Tess hissed.

"I do!" Max exploded, and the words were out of his mouth before he had time to even think about them. But once he stopped to reflect on what he had said, he realized that they were true, he did believe her. "I believe you, Tess," he said in a softer voice. "I trust your instincts, and if you say this guy is an enemy, then I'll believe that he is an enemy."

"But you disagree on what we should do about it," Tess said softly, looking away, frustration evident in her voice.

"Yes," Max said simply, knowing it would be pointless to deny what they both knew was true.

Tess groaned in anger and said, "We need to take the offensive. We need to be prepared. We need to…"

"We need to stick together and stay below the radar, Tess," Max said sharply, his words filled with finality.

Tess walked over to his bed and sat down on it, running a hand through her hair. Max stared at her for a moment in silence, then drew a deep breath and looked down at his hands, unsure of what to say. _Great, now I can't even argue with her. At least before I could argue._

"If it was Isabel or Michael having this discussion with you, would you ignore their opinion so blatantly?" Tess asked at last, her words bitter.

Max flinched. _I guess I kind of deserved that_. But pride would not let him back down now. "Tess, how can you ask me to consider your opinion when you won't even think about mine? I'm not the only one who is being closed minded about this." _And if you were honest enough about this, you would agree with me._

Tess looked up at Max, giving him a searching look, and Max thought he saw understanding in her eyes. "I can't do _nothing_ right now, Max," she said finally. "I can't help that I believe something different from you, and I can't help that I think you are wrong."

Max swallowed. "I can't help what I believe either. I can't change the fact that I honestly think acting normal is our best chance of avoiding danger."

"So what do we do now?" Tess wondered.

_What indeed?

* * *

_

The Hmong tribe, a people that originated in the far northern regions above China, have a complex religion and societal structure. Part of their beliefs revolve around an evil spirit, a dab, that causes all forms of illnesses. One such illness is epilepsy, which in the Hmong language is referred to as _quag dab peg_, meaning 'the spirit catches you and you fall down.'

In 1997, a book by the same name was published. This book detailed the conflict between a Hmong child with severe epilepsy, her family who spoke no English, and her doctors. There were no good translators at their local hospital, and as the doctors continued to prescribe medication after medication, the parents had no idea how or when to administer the pills and liquids to their daughter. Time and again the doctors failed to adequately explain what they were doing, and time and again the parents were unable to comply with the instructions. Added into this was the parents' own belief of what was causing the illness and their own ideas of how to best treat it, along with stereotypes the Americans had about the illiterate immigrant Hmong community and stereotypes the Hmong had about Americans and American doctors.

What happens when two fundamentally different cultures with two fundamentally different belief systems come into conflict with each other? What happens when some form of barrier prevents either from understanding the other? What happens when each wants what they perceive as best, and yet have no way of conveying that to the other?

Tragedy.

Made all the more tragic by the fact that it could have been avoided.


	7. Strange Bedfellows

Title: Providence

Disclaimer: I don't own anything

Author's note: So, I know I've probably said this before, but I want to reiterate, I have no intention of making any of the main eight characters evil or mean or cruel. This includes Liz and Maria. And Liz especially is going to start to play a larger role in this. So for those of you who don't like her, I will warn you now, she is going to be _good_, and, starting in this chapter, she is going to interact with Tess a lot, and not always in a bad way.

Also, as a response to one of the reviews, and for anyone who may have read my Salvation Series (Checkmate, The Crucible, etc...), this is going to have a _much _happier ending than that did. I'm not killing off any of the main characters or throwing everyone and everything into war, devestation, and despair. There may be a bit of sadness, but nothing like the Salvation stories.

* * *

Chapter Seven: Strange Bedfellows

"_Lonnie!"_

"_What?" Vilandra asked, shoving a strand of hair out of her eyes and staring over at her brother. She was tired, and she didn't want to be here. Why did her brother have to ask her about politics anyway? He had a million different advisors, not to mention Rath and Ava. Why did he have to bug her with things that just weren't that interesting?_

"_Did you listen to a word I said?" Zan demanded._

"_No," Vilandra replied, shrugging. Behind Zan, X'tal and Shirgai both gasped. The two advisors were always shocked at the lack of respect she showed her brother. She was the only one who could get away with so blatantly ignoring her bother when he was speaking to her. Not even Ava dared to do that, and everyone knew how much Zan loved Ava. But Vilandra was his sister, and that gave her the power to completely ignore all etiquette._

_Zan signaled for his two advisors to leave, and they did so quickly, bowing to the king and the princess several times on their way out. Zan turned his attention back to Vilandra. "Well, would you please listen?" he asked in frustration._

_Vilandra crossed her arms. "You have advisors, Zan," she argued. "You have Rath. Why do you continually pester me with all these questions? Why not ask them?"_

"_I have," Zan replied. "And I've asked Ava as well. But I want your opinion, Lonnie. You are my sister, why you think matters to me."_

_Lonnie smiled slightly at that. She sighed and said, "I think, Zan, that you have little choice in this. I know you do not want to join forces with any of the Intergalactic Merchants, but they control the trade, and if they place tariffs on our goods, it will ruin our economy."_

_Zan nodded. "And what of the consequences?" he asked. "Too many of my people have been used and tossed aside by the Merchants. Their organization is not welcome here, and many may rise up against me if I side with them."_

_Lonnie nodded. "I know. But it is not your job to make your people happy, Zan. It is your job to keep them alive, healthy, and safe. They may hate you, but at least they will be alive to hate you."_

_Zan nodded, accepting her words. In the game of politics, you often had to join sides with the people you hated the most.

* * *

_

Maria pushed a few strands of hair out of her eyes and dragged the wet rag across the table, cleaning up the sticky residue from the spilled Coke. Across the room, Liz was clearing the last of the dishes from the tables. The diner had closed only moments before, and each girl was eager to leave.

A soft knock on the door caused Maria to glance up and smile as she saw Alex standing there, waiting patiently for one of them to let him in. Maria dropped the cloth and wiped her hands on her apron as she walked over to him. Unlocking the door, she stepped aside and let Alex enter.

"Hey," she greeted him. "I thought you were hanging out with Isabel?"

"We did," Alex replied. "But she had to do some homework, and so I decided to come and see how you guys were doing."

Liz walked over to her two best friends, balancing the tray of dishes carefully in her hands. "You want anything to eat or drink, Alex?" she asked. "It's on the house."

Alex shook his head. "Thanks, but I'm okay," he replied, waving away her offer.

"Are you sure?" Liz pressed. "You know its no problem."

"Well, if you don't mind, some tomato juice would be nice," Alex said at last.

Maria raised an eyebrow. "When did you start drinking tomato juice?" she asked curiously as Liz went off to find her friend a glass of the requested drink.

Alex shrugged. "It's good for you," he said. "My dad's always trying to get me to drink it, so… I figured I'd give it a shot."

Maria shrugged. "Better you than me," she said with a shudder. "I can't stand the stuff." She slipped into a booth, and gestured for Alex to do the same. He took the seat across from her, and a moment later Liz reappeared with a glass in her hand. She handed it to Alex and sat down next to Maria.

"It's been a while since it was just the three of us, hasn't it?" Alex remarked as he took a sip of his juice.

"Yeah, we haven't really hung out since you went to Sweden," Liz agreed. "We should do a movie night or something."

"We could watch _Ever After_," Maria said excitedly.

Alex grimaced. "I'm not watching that with you," he objected. "You've seen it like twelve times, you quote each line before the character says it."

Maria frowned. "Fine, what about _Legally Blonde_?"

"What about a guy movie?" Alex asked.

Liz raised an eyebrow. "Fine. You want to watch _Terminator_? Or _Fight Club_? Or how about _The Usual Suspects_?"

"Okay," Alex agreed readily.

Liz rolled her eyes. "Alex, you know you hate those kind of movies," she objected. "You'll be just as miserable as we will if you make us watch them."

Liz and Maria both stared at Alex expectantly, waiting for him to say something, but he just stared down at his drink silently. Liz shot a confused look at Maria, who reached across the table and slapped Alex lightly on the arm.

"Earth to Alex?" she called. Alex turned and looked at her and she said, "This would be your cue to say 'but I'd rather watch those movies than another chick flick.' It's not like we haven't had this argument a million times before, you should remember your trademark lines."

Alex looked at her blankly for a moment, then gave a lopsided grin. "Sorry, must have zoned out of the conversation before we got back to my lines."

Maria accepted this explanation, but Liz still looked confused. She gave Alex a puzzled look, before standing up abruptly and saying, "I'm going to make sure the grill is turned off and everything's put away. I'll be right back." She turned and walked away.

Maria turned back to Alex and was about to say something when there was another sharp knock on the glass door. She looked up and saw a strange man standing there, someone she didn't recognize. Glancing over at Alex, she said, "Be right back," and walked over to the door.

The man smiled at her as she opened the door for her and said, "I'm sorry, Miss, but I was here this afternoon, and I think I left my jacket on the chair I was sitting at." He pointed to one of the tables, and Maria turned to see that, sure enough, a jacket was tossed over the seat of the chair.

"Oh, sure," Maria said quickly, letting the man step past her.

The man walked over to the chair and grabbed his jacket. As he did so, he locked eyes with Alex, and for a moment, the two stared at each other. Then the stranger broke the gaze and turned away, giving Maria a smile.

"Thank you," he said.

"Sure," Maria replied, having missed the strange silent interaction between the stranger and Alex.

But Liz had stepped out of the backroom in time to see Alex's eyes widen slightly as he looked at the man, as though he recognized this person. She frowned, her brown eyes narrowing as she watched the man leave, closing the door behind him. Then she slanted a look over at Alex, and saw him tip the contents of a Tabasco bottle into his tomato juice before carefully screwing the cap back on the bottle and taking a sip of his new concoction.

Outside, the Seeker walked briskly away from the Crashdown. Once he was sure he was out of sight of the three occupants of the diner, he paused and ran a hand through his hair.

"Interesting…" he murmured to himself.

This was an interesting development indeed.

* * *

"What do you want me to do?" Michael asked, holding the phone to his ear, not entirely sure he had heard Max right. 

"I want you to find out if anyone new is in town this week," Max repeated.

Michael shook his head. "Max, Roswell may be small, but it isn't that small. More than one person probably came to visit in the past week. What exactly am I looking for?"

"Something… something that could be a threat," Max said.

"I thought you said you didn't believe Tess?" Michael questioned sharply.

"No," Max replied. "I said I didn't think she was right in her idea about how to deal with this new threat. If it really is a threat. But I do trust her instincts."

Michael rolled his eyes and thought to himself that Max had a funny way of expressing that trust. "Okay, but you're going to have to be a bit more specific because I still don't know what I am looking for. Did she tell you what the guy looked like?"

"No," Max admitted. "Just… just look, okay? Check the bus station logs and that sort of thing. Get Valenti to help you if you want, he still has connections to the Sheriff's office, even if he isn't the Sheriff any more. Just… see if there is something there."

Michael agreed reluctantly, "Okay," and thought idly that it sounded like he was going on a wild goose chase. He hung up the phone and frowned, wondering exactly how he was going to go about this investigation for Max.

* * *

Kyle pulled the door open and stared in surprise at the girl on the doorstep. When he had heard the knocking, he had assumed that it was either one of the aliens, or one of his football friends. So to find Liz standing there, staring up at him with concern in her brown doe-eyes, left him speechless for a moment. 

Then horrible scenarios flashed through his mind, most of which featured enemy aliens killing everyone.

He had tried to tell himself that he didn't care about the others. They had ruined his father's career, and he should not have cared what happened to them. But because whatever happened to them would affect Tess, he found that he did care, and the sight of Liz standing there worried him.

"What is it?" he demanded, preparing himself for the worst.

Liz shifted from foot to foot, then said, "Is Tess here? I need to talk to her?"

Kyle looked taken aback, but he nodded. "She's in her room." He wondered if he should go with her, make sure she didn't start yelling at Tess or something. But he decided against it, because he knew Tess could take care of herself.

And she would kill him if he tried to interfere.

Liz stepped past Kyle and walked over to Tess' room. She knocked on the door, her a voice call out, "Come in," and pushed the door open.

Tess was sitting on her bed, reading. She looked up, and Liz could tell that she was startled to see the brunette human. For a moment, she said nothing as her blue eyes widened, and then she asked in a rush, "Did something happen? Max? Isabel? Michael?" It was late, very late, what would Liz being doing here if they weren't hurt?

What would Liz be doing here at all?

Liz shook her head. "No…" she swallowed and looked around the room, suddenly unable to meet Tess' eyes. She hated that she was here, asking Tess for help, but at the same time, she knew it was the only way. After all, this was Alex she was worried about, and there was nothing she wouldn't do for her him. Summoning her courage, she said, "I need your help."

Tess slipped her legs off the side of the bed and stood up, gesturing for Liz to enter the room and close the door. Liz did so, and the two stood uncomfortably for a moment, before Tess asked, "Well? What is it?"

Liz swallowed. "It's Alex," she said. "He's been acting… strange. And I… well, today, at the Crashdown, this guy came in, because he had forgotten his sweater, and I swear Alex recognized him. It was like he was afraid or worried or angry, maybe? I don't know. But then he put Tabasco sauce in his tomato juice, and he never drinks tomato juice. And he didn't know the right things to say, and he seemed distant, and he's been different all week. More confident and more… I don't know, but since he got back from Sweden…" She stopped, and paused to take a breath. Her words had come out rushed and cramped together, and she had stumbled over some of them, still surprised that she was doing this.

But Tess had stopped listening around the point that Liz mentioned the stranger at the Crashdown. Could this possibly be the same person? But what would that have to do with Alex?

"Anyway," Liz continued, "I thought maybe you would be able to tell me if…" she stopped again, suddenly realizing what she was about to say. She was about to ask if Tess could tell her if Alex was being possessed or mind-warped or something, and that was just ridiculous. After all, this was _Alex_. He was just more confident because he had gone away for a while, and was more in touch with who he was. And the Tabasco thing, maybe it was something Isabel got him started on. As for the strange man, she had probably just imagined that interaction.

After all, if something was wrong with Alex, Isabel would have noticed.

Right?

But then why couldn't she shake the feeling that something was very wrong?

"You think something is wrong with Alex?" Tess asked.

Liz nodded wordlessly. There was another silence, then Liz asked hesitantly, "Is there anyway you could figure out if he is being possessed or mind-warped?"

Tess thought about it for a moment. "I can try," she said at last, wondering exactly how she would try. Then she narrowed her eyes. "What did Max say when you told him your suspicions?" It would be so like the alien king to trust his human soul mate implicitly, even when he had earlier dismissed his alien wife's fears.

But Liz's answer surprised her. "I didn't."

Tess didn't ask why, finding suddenly that she didn't really care. She had moved on from Max, she told herself. She had agreed to go on a date with one of Kyle's friends. Matt was nice, and she could date him and forget about Max.

Right?

Finally, Tess nodded. "I'll help you if you'll help me," she said.

Liz raised an eyebrow at that. "What do you need help with?" she asked warily.

"Today, at the Crashdown, I saw this guy who just… felt wrong…"

* * *

The Seeker sat down on the bed in his hotel room and closed his eyes for a moment, thinking. He was tired, somehow the husk that he was using did not fit quite right. He had never really had time to perfect the technology behind it. He couldn't ask Khivar for help on that one, it would be too blatant of a clue to the Intergalactic Council that he was accepting outside help. So he was forced to learn how to use a husk himself, and he was too new at it to really expect to get it perfectly figured out. 

And, even if he had asked Khivar for help, he wasn't entirely sure he could trust the skin king anymore. He had already lead him astray once, and now…

He ignored the dull ache behind his eyes. It was unpleasant, but that didn't matter. He had come this far, he was not going to give up now.

Except…

There was a new development in his plan, a new complication, and he wondered how he was going to deal with it.

The boy…

He rubbed the back of his head and fell back against the pillows.

He didn't know what was going on, but he knew his best option was to strike quickly, to get to the Queen before anyone had a chance to ruin his plans.

The problem would be, of course, getting the Queen by herself. He closed his eyes again and let his thoughts wander, hoping he would come up with a plan.

Anyways, how difficult could it be to get a teenage girl alone for a few minutes? Human teenagers went off on their own all the time, without people really paying attention to where they had gone or how long they would be gone. No one would notice she had disappeared until he had slipped away.

After all, it wouldn't take that long to kill her.

* * *

"Oh, Liz isn't here right now, Max," Mrs. Parker said into the phone as she stood in front of the mirror and took the bobby pins out of her hair with one hand. It had been a long day, and she was ready to go to sleep, but her daughter and husband were both still out, and she made a habit of not falling asleep until at least one of them, though preferably both, were safely home. 

"Do you know where she is?" Max's voice asked through the phone line. "I tried calling her, but her cell phone was turned off."

"Yes…" Mrs. Parker said. Liz had left a note about where she was going, what had it said. She thought about it for a moment, then remembered and told Max, "She went to the Jim and Kyle's house to talk to that Harding girl you guys are friend with. Tess, I believe?"

"Tess?" Max sounded surprised. "Did she say why?"

"No," Mrs. Parker said. "Should I tell her you called?"

"Yes, please do," Max said, and Mrs. Parker hung up the phone.

In his bedroom, Max stared at his own phone in confusion, and wondered why on Earth Liz would have gone over to talk to Tess.

He put the phone down and stood up, intent on heading over to the Valentis' house and discovering the answer to his question.

* * *

If the need is great enough, you'll work with the strangest people. It's a common thing is politics, the far right and the far left coming together on some random issue, when usually they can't even be in the same room without trying to kill each other. Or, at the very least, tryin to discredit each other. 

But if the need is great enough, you'll go to whatever lengths you can. And you'll do things you never thought you'd do.

Maybe you'll go up to the person who came out of nowhere and claimed to be your soul mate's destiny, and ruined your life, and you'll ask her for help.

Or maybe you'll go up to the girl who took everything away from you when she become the love of your husband's life, and you'll ask her for help.

Or maybe you'll join with an organization you oppose and risk losing popularity and having your people hate you, because you know if you don't, the organization will ruin you, and all you hold dear.

It may gall your pride and it may contradict everything you ever believed in, but you'll do it.

Because someone or something else is important enough to you that you make that sacrifice.

The thing is, and though people rarely think about this, it will affect you later on down the line, once the crisis is over and the need is gone, you still have to live with what you did, and who you did it with, because the consequences don't just fade away.


	8. Preconcieved Notions

Title: Providence

Disclaimer: I don't own anything

Author's note: Thanks to everyone who reviewed. Many people commented on the fact that Liz went to Tess for help. I wasn't really sure whether or not having the two of them work together was a good idea, but on the show, when Liz is investigating Alex's death, she goes to Tess to ask about mind-warping. So I figured if she thought Alex was in trouble, she might do the same thing.

Pay attention to points-of-view, they are especially important in this chapter. _Italics_ are thoughts or flashbacks to the previous life on Antar. As always, please read and review.

* * *

Chapter Eight: Preconceived Notions and Other Misleading Ideas

There are four types of knowledge. There are the things you know that you know. There are the things you know that you don't know. There are the things you don't know that you know. And there are the things you don't know that you don't know.

The first two categories are relatively simple. They are the conscious thoughts that you have, the logic, rational, scientific understandings.

The third category is not as simple. It is your instinct, your gut, your intuition.

And the fourth category is the most confusing of all, because it encompasses all the things that you didn't even know you were clueless about. And you can't really change what is in that category, because how do you learn about something if you didn't even know that you didn't know it in the first place?

The first two categories aren't that interesting to think about, and the fourth category boggles the mind and leaves you with migraines.

So that leaves us with the third category. Which itself can be broken into two parts. The first are the true things you don't realize that you know, and the second are the things that you don't know that you know, but these things aren't actually true.

Now, that sounds a bit contradictory, doesn't it?

Let me explain. Some times you do something for no particular reason. You decide you don't like someone. When someone asks you why, you don't actually have a reason. You just don't like this person.

The thing is, you do have a reason. At least, your subconscious does. Maybe your subconscious decides you aren't going to like this person because she reminds you of your fifth grade teacher, who was a cruel and horrible person. Or maybe your subconscious decides you don't like her because she is blonde, and you therefore think she is an airhead.

She is not an airhead, and she is not as mean as you fifth grade teacher. But your subconscious decides that she is, and this falls into the category of things you don't know that you know, that are actually not true.

Are you still with me?

Basically, this is a type of preconceived notion. It is misleading, and dangerous because you don't realize you are doing it, and therefore can't change it.

One of the most common ways for this to manifest itself, is when we think we know what another person is thinking. Or we think we know what another person thinks about us. And, in that instance, all the conversations and communications in the world won't do any good, because we are so sure that we already know what they are trying to say.

If we think this consciously, we can change it. For instance, if you say something nice to me, and I think to myself, "Well, I know she really hates me, so she must be lying," this is a conscious thought. And I can realize what I am thinking and say to myself, "Don't be ridiculous, she doesn't hate you."

And then the next time you say something nice to me, I can simple say "Thank you."

However, there is another way we do this, and it is subconscious. You say something nice to me, and, because I am so sure that you hate me, I hear something completely different. I interpret your comment differently, and twist it so that it seems like you are being mean to me. I don't hear what you actually say, because I subconsciously think I know what you are actually saying.

Are you still with me?

Good.

Because this is important. When you subconsciously think you know what someone else thinks about you, and you have no idea that you are twisting everything they say, very bad things happen.

To both of you.

* * *

"_You agreed to the Intergalactic Merchant Guild's demands?" Rath asked, shaking his head slightly. "It will give fuel to your enemies."_

"_I know," Zan said heavily. "But what else could I do?"_

_Rath nodded in agreement. "Still, your Majesty, it would perhaps be a good idea to keep an eye on your opponents right now. They are the most dangerous when they have leverage to use against you, and they have this now. The people will not be happy."_

_Zan concurred, "True." He turned away from his second in command and stared out of the window at the garden below. He could see Ava standing there, underneath one of the gnarled trees, talking lively to Vilandra. A smile graced his lips at the sight of the two women he cared about most in the world._

_Rath stepped next to his king and glanced down at the garden as well. His eyes landed on Vilandra, and he smiled slightly._

_Zan noted this, and asked mischievously, "My sister looks quite pretty in that dress, doesn't she?"_

_Rath flushed and turned sharply away. It was a poorly kept secret that he loved the princess. In fact, it was so poorly kept that everyone on the entire planet seemed to know, save Vilandra herself. _

_Zan chuckled slightly to himself, then changed the subject and asked, "Is there any enemy in particular that you are worried about?"_

_Rath considered this for a moment. There were always many Antarians who did not support the king, that was true of every reign. The only ones to ever actually worry about were the ones who either had money and power, such as Lords, Barons, and Dukes, or those who could convince others to give them money and power. The latter category was the most dangerous, and one person in particular came to Rath's mind._

"_One, Sire," he said. "He's the son of business owner in the region of Surdi, and a powerful and convincing speaker."_

"_His name?" Zan asked curiously. _

"_Khivar."

* * *

_

Tess POV

"Liz isn't here right now," Tess said in confusion, staring at Max. Liz had left only moments ago, both agreeing to meet again the following day and discuss their findings. Tess was going to try to get close to Alex, and see what she felt when she was around him, see what could possibly be going on inside his head. And Liz was going to ask around about the new guy at the Crashdown. She had precious little to go on, and Tess didn't really think the brunette would find much, but still, it was something.

And yet… it felt very strange to be talking to Liz, to be making plans with Liz. Underneath the pretense of friendship there was still the strong current of hostility, the unspoken accusation that, no matter what, they were still rivals.

And then Max had appeared at the door, asking for Liz.

"Why was she here?" Max demanded, and Tess heard the slightly hostile tone in his voice.

"We just talked," Tess answered shortly. _Don't get angry_. Every fiber of her being was yelling at her not to bait Max, but her anger was quickly rising inside her at his antagonistic tone.

"About?" Max pressed.

Tess raised an eyebrow. "Why?" she shot back. _Why is this any of your business?_

Max crossed his arms. "Well, I find it a little odd that two people who hate each other are suddenly hanging out," he said coolly.

"I don't see why this concerns you," Tess replied. _Who does he think he is? How dare he barge in here and cross-examine me?_

Max frowned for a moment, then said in a softer tone. "Look, if you and Liz are talking, then I thought maybe something alien related had happened. I'm just concerned."

Tess sighed and ran a hand through her hair. _Do I tell him why Liz came to see me? No, I can't do that. Liz didn't tell him, and if she doesn't want him to know, then I can't betray her trust like that._ "Nothing happened, Max. She just wanted to talk."

"About?" Max asked again.

Tess glared at him.

Max sighed and stepped a bit further into the house, closing the door behind him. "Fine, don't tell me. It doesn't really matter anyway, if it isn't alien related."

_So if you don't want answers, why are you walking into the living room?_ Tess nodded slowly and asked hesitantly, "So you're not upset?"

Max flashed her a smile. "No, I'm not," he said. "If you and Liz are trying to be friends, then that is great. I don't like seeing the group so fractured."

_Okay, that definitely does not sound like Max. Since when does he care if I am friends with Liz as long as I'm not trying to kill her or break them up?_ Tess eyed him skeptically for a moment, then asked, "Is there anything else you wanted?"

"How are you doing?" Max asked.

_What?_ "What?" The question took Tess completely by surprise, and she stared at Max incredulously. He was smiling at her gently, giving her a look that made her knees suddenly go weak. _How does he go from aggressive to charming like that?_

"I was just asking how you were doing?" Max repeated.

"Um… okay, I guess," Tess said hesitantly. _I would feel a lot better if you actually believed me about the guy at the Crashdown…_

But Max wasn't looking at her anymore. His eyes were still trained on her face, but it was as though he was looking right through her, seeing something else.

"Max?"

Max jerked slightly as she said his name and shifted suddenly, slightly uncomfortable. "Did you do something?" he asked, confused.

"What?" Tess was not following his questions.

"I thought I saw…something from Antar, maybe…" Max let his sentence drift off. "Did you…?" he glanced over at Tess.

_Mind-warp you? Is that the only thing you think of me? Someone constantly scheming to get you?_ "No!" Tess hissed. _How can you think that?_

Max licked his dry lips and studied her for a moment, uncertainty etched onto his face, then said, "You didn't?"

_What kind of question is that?_ "No, I didn't," Tess replied icily. Max's face fell, and Tess felt a surge of anger. _What? It hurts you so much to realize that maybe what ever flash you saw was real?_

"Oh, well I thought maybe if you had you could…" Max stopped abruptly as Tess' words cut him off.

"You should leave," Tess said through clenched teeth. _Before I throw you out_.

Max gave her a long, hard look, then turned and walked over to the door. He pulled it open and stepped outside into the night, then shut the door sharply behind him.

Tess stared at the closed door, seething. Then she forced herself to turn away from the door and walk over to the phone. Picking it up, she dialed a number, listened to the rings at the other end of the line, then started talking the moment the phone was answered.

"Matt? It's Tess. I know we were going to go out tomorrow night, and I know it is really late now, but I was wondering if you wanted to come over? We could watch a movie or something."

* * *

Max POV

"Liz isn't here right now," Tess said, tilting her head to one side and regarding Max with confusion evident in her blue eyes.

_Where is she? Why was she here? What did she talk to you about?_ Max was silent for a moment, then he asked, "Why was she here?" His voice was more belligerent than he had intended it to be, and he saw Tess flinch slightly, and knew her guard had gone up.

"We just talked," Tess replied simply, but Max knew instinctively that it had been more than that.

"About?" he pressed. _Why am I harping on this? I don't even know what it is I am suspicious about._

"Why?" Tess snapped, angry.

Max crossed his arms and returned her furious stare, his voice becoming icy. "Well, I find it a little odd that two people who hate each other are suddenly hanging out," he replied. _That is true, it is a little suspicious. What could they be talking about? Why would Liz and Tess talk unless… oh, God, did something happen?_

"I don't see why this concerns you."

Max said nothing for a moment, thinking. _Is this payback for not believing you about the guy at the Crashdown? Because I do believe you, I really do. I just…_ "Look, if you and Liz are talking, then I thought maybe something alien related had happened. I'm just concerned." _Play nice. It's not like you haven't hurt her enough in the past._

There was a long pause while Tess seemed to weigh her options, then she shrugged, running a hand through her hair, and assured him, "Nothing happened, Max. She just wanted to talk."

"About?" Max asked. Do you actually think I am stupid enough to believe that Liz came to you just to talk? Give me a little credit, will you?

Tess glared at him.

Max closed the door behind him, shutting out the night, and stepped into the living room. "Fine, don't tell me," he said at last. "It doesn't really matter anyway, if it wasn't alien related." _See, I can be nice and understanding._

"So you're not upset?" Tess sounded unsure.

Max smiled slightly, wondering whether or not he was upset. _If Tess and Liz really were just talking, then maybe Tess is accepting that she isn't my destiny anymore. Maybe she's trying to move on past that. I hope so, for her sake. I don't like hurting her this much, but I can't help that I love Liz._ "No, I'm not. If you and Liz are trying to be friends, then that is great. I don't like seeing the group so fractured." _Maybe if you are friends with all of us, instead of just Kyle, you'll start to understand why we want a normal life._

"Is there anything else you wanted?" Tess asked.

"How are you doing?" Max questioned briefly.

"What?" Tess was stunned by the question.

"I was just asking how you were doing?" Max repeated. _Why are you looking at me like that? Do you really think so little of me that you think I don't care about you at all?_

"Um… okay, I guess," Tess answered, clearly uncomfortable.

Max opened his mouth to say something, when something suddenly appeared before his eyes. He was still staring at Tess, but she looked different. Older and wiser, and her face was lined with grief and suffering. The room was suddenly hot and humid, and thick with a scent he couldn't quite identify. And then he felt a dull throbbing sensation spread through his body, as though he was covered in bruises and exhausted from long hours of fighting…

"Max?"

The vision faded, and Max was staring at Tess again. He shook his head shortly, then shifted from one foot to the other. _What happened? Did Tess and I somehow connect to form a flash?_ "Did you do something?" he asked Tess. _Did you connect with me? Because I don't think I could have done that on my own._

"What?" Tess clearly had no idea what he was talking about.

_That's odd. But then where did the flash come from? I've never gotten something like that without forming a connection._ "I thought I saw… something from Antar, maybe…" _How is this possible? Is she sure she didn't see that?_ "Did you do something?" Max stared at Tess for a moment before looking away, his eyes traveling through the living room as he wondered vaguely whether or not he could recreate the flash.

"No," Tess replied, and for some inexplicable reason, she sounded angry. "How can you think that?"

_What do you mean? Why wouldn't I think that?_ "You didn't?" Max questioned curiously. Tess was upset for some reason, and Max had the sudden thought that if he knew why she was upset, the conversation would go a lot more smoothly. But he just couldn't understand why this would frustrate her.

"No, I didn't," Tess said coldly.

_Then you can't help me recreate it_. Max was suddenly very disappointed that he couldn't relive the flash. It could have been a clue to his past, and it seemed like a waste to let it go without exploring it more. His face fell. "Oh, well I thought maybe if you had you could…"

"You should leave," Tess interrupted, her teeth clenched tightly together.

Max gave her a penetrating look. _Does this mean you don't want to help me with the memory retrieval sessions? Because I won't accept being alien the way you are? Because I don't agree with your plans of action? I am trying, Tess, I really am. But you are being just as stubborn as I am on this one. I maybe not want to be alien, but you're making _no_ effort to be human, or to be one of us._

The more he thought about it, the angrier he got, and suddenly he couldn't even stand being in the same room that she was in. He turned and stormed over to the door, yanking it open and stepping outside. The night air was cool, and as he slammed the door closed behind him, he let out the breath he didn't realize he had been holding.

* * *

The afternoon after her talk with Tess found Liz dressed, yet again, in the incredibly ugly Crashdown waitress outfit, attempting to affix the antenna headband to her head. She had spent most of the night staring at the different checks, credit card slips, and debit card receipts from the previous day, but had found nothing out of the ordinary. It didn't help that she had no idea what she was looking for, but Tess had felt sure that the guy she had seen had been somehow dangerous.

So far, every slip of paper she looked at held the name of someone who had lived in Roswell for a while. Which meant, Liz mused, that the stranger had probably paid with cash.

It made sense. The FBI or an enemy alien was not likely to leave a paper trail.

She sighed and wondered if Tess had had a chance to talk to Alex yet. Had she learned anything? Liz pursed her lips and hoped that she was wrong in her suspicions, that Alex was fine and she was just being paranoid.

But something nagged at her, telling her she wasn't wrong. After all, she had known Alex all her life, she knew he was acting strange.

But he was so happy with Isabel. Liz stepped out into the diner as she thought about that. She didn't want anything to be wrong with Alex because, for the first time in a really long time, he seemed to actually be happy and confident. It was a change, and she liked it, even if, somehow, it just didn't feel right.

Maria hurried over to Liz. "Oh, thank God you are here. It's packed!" She gestured with one hand to the room, which was indeed crowded. Liz frowned at that, it was never this crowded on a weekday afternoon.

Liz grabbed her order pad and set to work, pausing at the booth that Alex and Isabel were sitting in to give her two friends a smile. Isabel returned it quickly, but Alex barely gave her a second glance, his attention was so focused on the hybrid Princess.

Liz sighed and silently hoped that Tess would have a chance to figure out what was wrong with Alex soon.

* * *

"What do you need?" Valenti asked, opening the door to his house and letting Michael step inside. The early morning sun spilled into the house through the doorway, illuminating Valenti's tired features, and Michael thought idly that the ex-Sheriff had seemed more and more depressed since loosing his job.

Michael glanced around quickly, then asked, "Is Tess here?"

Valenti raised an eyebrow at that. Michael had just informed the ex-Sheriff that he was here to talk to him, and not Tess and Kyle, and now he was asking about the petite blonde's whereabouts? "No, she isn't. She's out with Kyle," he replied.

"Good," Michael said, knowing she would not be pleased to know that he and Max had been discussing her behind her back. It wasn't as though they had said anything bad, but still… "I need your help with something Tess is worried about. Did she tell you about the guy she saw at the Crashdown?"

Valenti shook his head. "No, she didn't?" He took a seat on the sofa, and Michael sat across from him in the chair. "Why? Is she alright? Is she in trouble?" he questioned worriedly. Tess may not biologically be his daughter, but she was a part of his family now, and he didn't want anything to happen to her.

"That's the problem," Michael explained. "We aren't really sure what's going on. She thinks she saw someone… some enemy or something… and we are trying to locate him."

"What can I do to help?"

* * *

Tess pushed the door of the Crashdown open and stepped inside. She glanced around the crowded diner, then locked eyes with Liz. Liz gave a tentative smile, and a sharp nod of her head in Alex's direction. Tess nodded once, then turned her attention to Isabel and Alex. Taking a slow breath, she walked over to their booth and flashed a smile.

"Hey," she said cheerfully.

Isabel looked up and smiled, but her smile was tinged with annoyance, it was clear that she wanted to be left alone with Alex.

Tess blatantly ignored that and turned her attention to Alex. "Hey, I wanted to ask you a favor," she said.

Alex seemed taken aback by that, but only for a moment. "Alright," he said simply. He and Tess had never had a friendship, probably because he was best friends with Liz, but he wasn't the sort of person who would refuse to help someone, no matter what he thought of them.

Tess ran a hand through her hair and smiled again, this time nervously. She wasn't getting a strange feeling from Alex. He seemed normal to her, although, as she considered that, she realized that she didn't actually know him well enough to know whether or not he was acting normal.

"I was wondering if you knew anything about decryption software," Tess said. Alex nodded once, and she pressed on hurriedly, "Because it would be cool if you could decode the…" she stopped and glanced around the Crashdown, then lowered her voice and whispered, "Destiny Book."

For a moment, Alex was silent, then he said simply, "I could. If you can get me a page or two of the Book, I can get access to some of the newer decryption programs at Las Cruces University, or maybe Santa Fe."

Isabel glanced up at Tess, then switched her gaze back to Alex. "Do we really care what it says?" she asked sharply. "It's not like it matters any more."

"But it will tell us about our pasts," Tess protested.

"We aren't those people anymore," Isabel hissed. "Why are you so afraid of living in the present?"

"Why are you so afraid of learning from the past?" Tess retorted.

"Guys, keep your voices down," Alex warned.

Tess nodded briefly, knowing that he had a point. The diner was to crowded for them to openly discuss who and what they were.

"Have you told Max what you are doing?" Isabel questioned, and Tess felt her face flush with anger at the mere thought of the alien king.

"His Majesty has too many other things on his mind at the present moment," she replied, her blue eyes flashing.

"Or you just don't want to tell him because you know he'll be upset." Isabel glared at Tess and continued, "If you don't mind, we were in the middle of a date." Her voice was glacial, and her tawny eyes were narrowed into a pointed stare.

Tess glanced over at Alex, wondering whether or not he would say anything. As though seeming to understand her silent question, he said, "Well, I wouldn't mind decoding the Book, if that's what everyone wants."

"It isn't," Isabel said confidently.

"Are you sure?" Alex pressed, and Isabel raised an eyebrow at him. He shrugged uncomfortably and looked down at the table.

Tess gave Alex a penetrating stare. She still didn't feel anything different from him, but then again, it wasn't really her power. She could mind-warp, and on rare occasions, undo a mind-warp, but she had couldn't tell if anyone was being mind-warped. At least, she'd never had a reason to do it before now, and she wasn't entirely sure _how_ to go about figuring it out.

It was really more something Isabel would be good at, since she could dream-walk, and it was through people's dreams that the truth often came out. After all, few people could control what their subconscious thought.

But still, there was something strange about this Alex. Something… not quite right.

Tess turned and walked over to Liz, who was handing a patron his order. The waitress looked up hopefully, and Tess murmured, "Can we talk?"

Liz followed Tess into the back room, and the blonde turned to look at her. "Well?" Liz prompted.

Tess sighed. "I don't have anything concrete, but there is something…" she paused, at a loss for words. At last, she said, "I think I know what you mean. Something's not quite right, but I don't know what it is." She ran a hand through her hair. She had purposely asked Alex about the Destiny Book, just to see what his reaction would be. She had been toying with the idea of trying to translate it for a while, and Alex had been the obvious choice for a translator.

But when she had asked him about it, he had seemed…

Tess closed her eyes in frustration. She just couldn't explain what it had been, but something had been off. Something about the tone in his voice or the look in his eyes or the way he smiled…

_Something_.

"I just don't know what it is," Tess repeated, opening her eyes and glancing over at Liz.

Liz nodded, disappointed. She had hoped Tess would be able to tell her exactly what was going on and how to fix it. But it was at least gratifying to have someone confirm her suspicions.

"If something is wrong with Alex, we need to do something quickly," she said, worried.

Tess considered that for a moment, then said, "But what? We have no idea what is going on. The only person who could tell us is Isabel, but I don't think she'll agree to dream-walk him."

"We can't just do nothing," Liz shot back, upset at the idea of leaving her friend in trouble.

"I know. But I just don't see how to proceed." Tess drew a sharp breath, hating what she was about to say, then forced the words out of her mouth. "I think we should talk to Max."

Liz tilted her head to the side, her mouth opening slightly. "What?" she asked, surprised.

"I think we should talk to Max," Tess repeated. "And Michael. Maybe they'll come up with some plan."

Liz bit her lip, then nodded reluctantly. "I guess," she said finally. "I just don't know if they will believe us." She ran a hand through her hair, then asked, "Do you think there is any way of getting Isabel to dream-walk Alex?"

Tess shook her head. "Honestly, no, I don't. She's not going to believe either of us if we tell her that we think something is wrong with Alex. Especially not if it is coming from me."

"It might be worth a try, though," Liz objected.

"And risk Isabel telling Alex our suspicions?" Tess didn't like having to lie to Isabel about something as important as this, but if something really was wrong with Alex, then letting Alex know about their misgivings could ruin any chance they had of figuring out what was wrong.

"You don't think it's a shape-shifter, do you?" Liz asked suddenly, remembering the fact that Alex had put the Tabasco sauce in his drink last night. But even as she asked it, she knew he couldn't be. A shape-shifter would never have been able to impersonate Alex this well. No, he was still Alex, just… different.

"No," Tess replied, shaking her head, her thoughts along the same line as Liz's thoughts. "I think we have to go to Max and Michael. We need a plan before we proceed," Tess repeated, waiting for Liz to agree with her.

But Liz wasn't sure she liked the idea. How long would it take them to come up with a plan? A day, a week? What if something happened to Alex in the meantime? They couldn't wait, she wasn't willing to take that risk.

"I want to do something now," she said.

Tess rolled her eyes. "What?" she asked. "What would we do?"

"I don't know!" Liz cried in frustration. "But we can't leave him in danger. _I_ can't do that to my best friend."

"Look, I want to help him also…" Tess started, but Liz cut her off.

"Do you?" the brunette asked skeptically.

"Of course!" Tess shot back angrily. Liz's skepticism rankled deeply, especially after the hybrid's previous conversation with Max. Why couldn't these people understand where she was coming from? It wasn't that she didn't want to help Alex, she just didn't know _how_.

Liz felt anger and aggravation well up inside her. She understood what Tess was saying, and she knew the benefits of waiting and coming up with a plan. But this was Alex, this was her best friend, and she couldn't wait. And she knew that, had it been Kyle, Tess would have been the one arguing to do something quickly instead of waiting for a plan from Max and Michael.

So what if they didn't know what to do? They _never_ knew what to do. It wasn't as though they had a perfect plan every time they decided to take on an enemy. They faced the FBI and the skins because they had to, and they often had to wing-it, because there was no time to sit down and strategize.

"Fine, you know what, if you won't help me, I'll find someone who will!" Liz snapped. She turned and stalked from the room, and Tess watched her go for a moment, before sinking on to a stool in frustration.

She just didn't know what to do.

* * *

_The land was dry and barren. It had, at one point, been a lush meadow filled with tall grass. A river had run through it, churning up the silt and cascading the nutrient-filled, red mud onto the banks. It had been a field for the few poor farmers who lived nearby. They were sustenance farmers, growing only what crops they needed to feed and shelter their families. _

_But then the Merchants came. They built a dam further up along the river, harnessing its power for their own uses. And the river dried up, the grass shriveled, and the red silt baked in the hot sun._

_The land became barren, and the farmers were forced to sell their farms and move. _

_The story was the same in all the poor regions of Antar. The Merchants' Guild had come in and destroyed the small farmers, the poor who had little influence on the economy. They cared nothing for others' welfare, so long as the ultimate end served their purposes._

_But this had happened a hundred years ago, under a different king, and now no one was left alive who even remembered it._

_It did not matter._

_The anger against the Merchants had been passed down through the generations, and the hatred burned deeply, so deeply it seemed to be ingrained in the very blood of the Antarian people._

_Zan's decision to let the Merchants back into Antar was a necessary one, but not a popular one. _

_And Khivar saw this, saw the discontent and the fear and the rage, and knew his time was coming._


	9. Liar's Punishment

Title: Providence

Disclaimer: I don't own anything

Author's note: If you all don't mind, I would request that you go back and briefly read the end of the chapter 'Foreshadowing,' the part where Ava is killed. Once you read this chapter, you will (hopefully) understand why I am suggesting this.

* * *

Chapter Nine: Liar's Punishment

When you are a little child, you learn not to tell lies. When you are young, you aren't that good at telling lies anyway, so you always get caught. And then you get punished. And you associate bad things with lying, and so you learn not to lie.

As you get older, you learn that there are some situations where you do want to lie, where lying isn't necessarily bad. There are some times when the truth is what will get you punished. So you lie, and you see that the world does not end, and you start realizing that lying has its benefits.

If you can balance the two, when to lie and when to tell the truth, then everything is okay. The problems arises when you start leaning too far in one direction. If you lie too often, you soon find you can't tell the truth anymore. And if you continue to lie, sooner or later, you will start lying to yourself.

* * *

_He started speaking at small gatherings. A few townspeople would show up, and he would give a passionate oration about the evils that had befallen the country since Zan's rule. He would call attention to the Merchants Guild, and he would cry that Zan was weak, that he catered to the more powerful, that he only did what served him, and not what served the people._

_He was a powerful speaker, and his fervor convinced the listeners that everything he said was true. They did not question his statements, they never once asked about his claims. They ignored that fact that Zan had brought the planet out of the depression it had been in when he first started his reign. They discounted about all the laws he had passed protecting workers' rights and providing equality among the races. They overlooked all the good things he had done for them, all the ways that he had made their lives better._

_In short, Khivar made them forget._

_Soon he began to speak at larger events, and within the year his speeches were so popular that people would travel hundreds of miles just to hear him preach.

* * *

_

Matt held the door of the Crashdown open and allowed Tess to enter in front of him. She flashed him a bright smile, her blue eyes lightening up, and said teasingly, "How chivalrous of you, kind sir."

Matt laughed and let the door swing shut behind him. "My mother taught me well," he replied. He waved a hand to his clothes and said, "See, I even know how to dress well."

Tess eyed his khaki slacks and the dark green polo shirt that brought out the green of his eyes, and nodded. He did know how to dress well, but he was quite attractive on his own, and almost anything would have looked good on him.

Tess flushed at the thought, turning away quickly so he wouldn't see the red that suffused her face. "Where do you want to sit?" she asked, glancing around the almost empty diner.

It was early morning. Tess and Matt had spent some time together two nights before while Tess had slowly stopped seething at her conversation with Max. Then they had gone out again after her conversation with Liz, and Tess had eventually managed to calm down and forget that argument was well. Then Matt had asked her if she wanted to meet him for breakfast before school, and she had jumped at the chance to spend more time with him. He really was a wonderful person, and she told herself over and over that she could really like him.

She didn't need Max. She could learn to love someone else.

Right?

"How about at that booth?" Matt said, nodding towards a booth near the back room. Tess nodded, and the two of them walked over to the booth. The blonde hybrid slipped into her seat and glanced over at the waitress who was making her way towards them. It was someone that Tess didn't recognize, and it occurred to her suddenly that she had never been to the diner when neither Maria nor Liz were working.

But it was obvious that they wouldn't be able to work during school hours.

"Hi, I'm Samantha, and I'll be your waitress this morning. Can I get you anything to drink?" the girl asked cheerfully. She looked to be about twenty. Her long brown hair was pulled back into a ponytail, and her nails were coated in bright pink polish. She was smiling widely, her lips spilt to reveal two rows of perfect white teeth.

"Coffee," Matt said.

"Iced coffee," Tess requested. She watched the perky waitress smile and walk away, a bounce in her step. Shaking her head, Tess wondered vaguely how anyone could be that cheerful in the morning.

"She's… happy," Matt commented dryly, and Tess struggled not to burst out into laughter.

"She is," Tess agreed as she looked down at the menu. "I guess she's a morning person."

"You know, I always thought morning people were a myth. I mean, how could anyone actually like the morning?" Matt asked, shaking his head in mock disbelief.

"A myth? Like the monsters under your bed?" Tess questioned, raising an eyebrow.

"Oh, no," Matt said seriously. "The monsters are real."

Tess' lips twitched slightly, but she managed not to smile, and instead asked, "Oh? Did you have a run in with some monsters in your childhood?"

Matt nodded. "One of them attacked me when I was seven."

"What did it look like?" Tess questioned curiously.

"It was a giant bug," Matt replied. "It was several feet long, and had these great bit pinchers attacked to its forehead."

"Oh, how horrible," Tess deadpanned. "How did you fight it off?"

"Bug spray," Matt replied. "Lots and lots of bug spray."

At that, Tess could no longer keep a straight face, and burst out laughing. Shaking her head, she looked back down at the menu and said, "What are you going to order?"

"Pancakes," Matt replied. "You?"

"Waffles," Tess decided after a momentary debate. "Maybe the blueberry ones." She looked up, and found that Matt was staring at her intently. "What?" she asked, suddenly self-conscious.

"You have the most amazing smile," Matt said, and Tess blushed bright pink.

She could get used to this, she decided. She knew that she really should be talking to Liz about Alex, she really should be trying to figure out who that stranger at the Crashdown was. But she didn't want to.

Because she suddenly realized why Max and Isabel wanted a normal life.

She could get used to having a guy actually reciprocate her feelings, actually want to date her. She could get used to not having to constantly worry about the skins or the FBI or exposure. She could get used to having friends who hung out with her because they wanted to, not because it was necessary for their survival that they do so. She could get used to breakfast dates, and random compliments, and conversations about monsters under the bed.

She could get used to this.

"Thank you," she said softly, looking away.

She didn't need to love Max. She didn't need to worry about the other aliens. She could do this on her own. She could be normal.

Couldn't she?

* * *

Michael watched Alex and Isabel talking as they stood outside the door to their classroom. Isabel was leaning in towards Alex, almost touching him. He was smiling at her, his entire face lit up with happiness. One of his hands was draped across her shoulders, one of her hands rested on his elbow. 

They looked good together.

The thought seemed to bother him, but he shrugged it off. What did he care if they looked good together? He wanted Isabel to happy, she was his family. And if Alex made her happy, then who was he to complain?

Something twisted in his stomach. He frowned, wondering what the strange emotion was. He wasn't angry, wasn't upset, wasn't exasperated…

Was he jealous?

No, he pushed that thought away as well. What did he have to be jealous of?

Nothing.

Right?

* * *

Maria watched her boyfriend as he watched his past wife. She was leaning against the metal of her locker, watching his every expression. The hardening of the lines around his face, the way his eyes lingered on Isabel a moment longer than necessary, the narrowing of his eyes. 

He turned away from Isabel, and caught sight of Maria. She gave him a hesitant smile, which the hybrid General returned with a nod. He started walking towards her, and she felt her heartbeat quicken.

He loved her.

"Hey," Michael said, leaning down to give her a quick kiss. Her lips brushed against his for a moment, then they separated, and Michael asked, "Are you going to class?"

Maria nodded. It was a strange question coming from Michael, when had he ever cared about class? But she pushed the thought away and linked her arm through his.

He smiled down at her, and she smiled up at him.

He loved her. She told herself that over and over.

But as they passed Alex and Isabel, his gaze lingered on Isabel for a fraction of a second, and some unreadable emotion flashed through his dark eyes.

* * *

Isabel leaned against Alex and stared around the quad. It was lunch, and she and Alex had decided to sit by themselves under the trees near the parking lot. The harsh rays of sun beat down on them, and they had sought refuge in the shade. 

"What did you think of our history lecture today?" Alex asked casually.

Isabel laughed at that. The history lecture had been on the Vietnam War, which should have been an interesting subject. Of course, their professor always had the ability to make even the most fascinating subject sound boring, and several people had zoned out.

Until the overhead screen had crashed to the ground.

It was old, and apparently not attached to the ceiling well enough. The entire screen fell, flopping over the table at the front of the room, and effectively ending the lecture.

A few people had actually screamed, and one of the girls had jumped out of her seat in shock. Then the students had rushed to the front of the room to try to figure out what had caused the screen to fall. Isabel had no idea why they were all so interested; it was after all, just an overhead screen.

And it was quite possibly the most interest anyone had shown in that class.

"It was a pity that his class was interrupted," Isabel said softly.

"Yes, it was such a fascinating lecture," Alex agreed sarcastically.

Isabel laughed again and shook her head, long blonde strands of hair falling over her eyes. She flicked them away and glanced over at Alex, who was studying her. "What?"

"Nothing," Alex said quickly, looking down at his lunch. "You're just very beautiful, you know that?"

"Actually, yes, I do," Isabel said with a mocking grin.

"And so modest," Alex rejoined.

"Oh, please, what good is modesty?" Isabel shot back, and Alex chuckled.

Isabel smiled, and leaned back against Alex again, staring up at the cloudless blue sky. In that moment, she decided, life was perfect. Alex was perfect. Her relationship with Alex was perfect. The weather was perfect. Everything was just…

Perfect.

Somewhere in the back of her mind a nagging voice reminded her that the world might end, that they still had enemies out there somewhere, and if Tess was right, those enemies might be closer then they thought.

But she didn't bother listening to the voice. If they stayed under the radar, everything would be fine, and she finally had the normal life that she wanted. What more could she ask for?

Then she remembered the strange feeling she had had before when she was with Alex, the feeling that something was going to happen.

She pushed the thought away. She was being paranoid.

Everything was _fine_.

* * *

Max found Liz standing in front of her locker, shoving her books into her bag. He walked towards her, a smile appearing on his face, and casually leaned against the metal. "Hey." 

Liz jumped, startled, and looked up at him. "Hey," she said, laughing. "Don't sneak up on me like that." She gave him a quick kiss and closed her locker. School was finally out, and she had to get to the Crashdown for her shift.

"Do you have any plans for this evening?" Max asked casually.

Liz frowned. No, she didn't have any plans. But she needed to come up with a plan to help Alex. Which meant she needed to talk to Tess again. After she had stormed away from the blonde hybrid yesterday, she had taken a few moments to calm down and think things through. And Tess did have a point about not rushing into things. But at the same time, this was Alex, and the idea of not doing anything…

Well, to her, that wasn't an option.

"Just homework," Liz replied carelessly. "What about you?"

Max gave her an impish grin and said, "Well, there's this waitress at the local diner that I've got a thing for…"

"So I hear," Liz laughed. She kissed Max again, and silently asked herself why she hadn't told him her suspicions about Alex. Now that Tess backed her up on it, she had proof that she wasn't being paranoid, that something really was wrong. But for some reason, she couldn't bring herself to voice her suspicions to Max.

But the longer she waited, the more danger Alex was in…

She looked up at Max, and realized he wasn't looking at her. Following his gaze, she caught sight of Tess and Matt walking towards them down the hallway. Matt was saying something, and Tess was laughing at his comment. She was facing him completely, leaning in towards him. They held hands, their fingers interlocked, and neither had noticed Max and Liz watching them.

"Who's that?" Max asked curiously, eyeing Matt.

"Matt," Liz replied instantly. "He's one of Kyle's friends. He and Tess started dating a couple days ago." She had been quite surprised when Tess and Matt had shown up at the Crashdown the night before, and inwardly, she had been relieved. Now that Tess was showing interest in someone else, she would no longer pursue Max.

Right?

"They're dating?" Max asked, surprised and slightly confused. He narrowed his eyes. "Is that really a good idea?" he asked suspiciously. "If he finds out about us…"

"I think Tess is more than adept at keeping secrets," Liz commented dryly.

Max glanced down at her and nodded. "You're right, of course. Anyway, Tess is dating someone. This is a good thing." But there was something in his tone that made Liz cringe, something not quite right about the way he had made that comment.

She shook her head slightly and told herself she was being ridiculous. Max loved her. Max had loved her since third grade. Max had spent the better part of the last year telling everyone that he loved her, and he did not love Tess.

Everything was fine. No, everything was better than fine. Max loved her, Tess was interested in someone else. Everything was _perfect_.

"I should get going, I need to meet Maria so we can get to work on time," Liz said. she tucked a strand of hair behind one ear and continued, "Are you going to come to the Crashdown later?"

"Yeah," Max agreed, his eyes still on Matt and Tess, who had not stopped by Matt's locker and were talking as he put his books away. Finally, he tore his eyes away from them and gave Liz a soft smile. "I'll come by later this afternoon and we can make plans for the evening."

Liz nodded and turned away, heading towards the front doors of the school, and repeating the mantra 'everything is perfect' over and over in her mind.

Max watched his girlfriend leave, then gave Tess and Matt one last look. He was happy for Tess, happy that she had found someone else. The uneasiness in his stomach was simply concern for their safety and their secret.

That was all.

He was _happy_ for her.

Wasn't he?

* * *

The Seeker watched as the Queen exited the school, followed by a human boy. He watched, a hand over his eyes to shade them from the harsh New Mexico sun. 

The human boy said goodbye to the Queen, giving her a quick kiss on the cheek. She said something to him, and he smiled and kissed her again. Then he turned and walked towards his car, and she started her walk home.

The Seeker followed.

He wanted to have it planned out differently. He wanted to have time to work over every detail. He wanted to come up with some creative way to kill her, or perhaps to make her suffer for eternity.

But he didn't have time. His run in with the love interest of the Princess had proven that. He had to work quickly, or risk getting caught up in the spider web or intrigue and politics that was clearly at play here.

So he would have to act now.

* * *

Tess pushed a strand of blonde hair out of her sapphire eyes and shivered. The air felt suddenly damp, but not cold, as though it had rained previously, and the rain had faded away. But the sun shone brightly overhead, casting light from the cloudless sky. 

She shivered again. A strange sensation made its way through her body, as though there was something blatantly obvious that she should be noticing, but wasn't. She paused on the sidewalk and glanced back and forth, trying to figure out what it was that was bothering her. But she couldn't figure out what it was, and after a few moments of confusion, she shrugged it off as paranoia, and continued walking.

The sound of footsteps on gravel caused her to slow, her heart hammering wildly in her chest. She turned and looked around, but saw nothing out of the ordinary. Students were pouring out of the school, and an older woman was crossing the street. She shook her head, blonde strands falling over blue eyes yet again, and sighed. Unable to completely shake the fear that plagued her, she continued walking.

She turned the corner into a side street, out of sight of those on the crowded street behind her, looked up at the man who was suddenly standing in front of her, and froze.

Staring up into the cold brown eyes of the man that she had _known_ was dangerous, she felt her heart race, and tried to tell herself, over and over, that everything was going to be okay.

* * *

_She heard him speak, and she fell instantly in love. Or, rather, she fell into lust. It was not the same love that she harbored for Rath. It was a naïve love, one that could be completely blind to his faults and lies._

_She knew he was working against her brother._

_She knew he was trying to overthrow her family's rule._

_She knew siding with him was the worst betrayal a woman could do to her brother and husband._

_But she was young, she was idealistic, and she was in love. And she told herself that she loved him, and she told herself that he loved her, and she told herself that she could convince him to stop his campaign and to work with her brother, not against him._

_And Vilandra believed each and every lie.

* * *

_

If you lie too often, you soon find you can't tell the truth anymore. And if you continue to lie, sooner or later, you will start lying to yourself.

And then the worst possible thing can happen.

You believe your own lies.

And that is the liar's punishment; not that he is never believed, but rather that he himself doesn't know how to believe anything else.


	10. Forgiven, not Forgotten

Title: Providence

Disclaimer: I don't own anything

Author's Note: So I've decided to clear something up. I know, in the series, that Rath and Vilandra are betrothed, not married. At the end of the last chapter, when Vilandra knows that siding with Khivar is a betrayal of her husband, I don't actually mean that she and Rath are married. They are still only betrothed at this point, but she is thinking about the future. She hasn't completely sided with Khivar yet, but if she does in the future after she is married, it will be a betrayal of her husband.

Is that clearer?

Also, sorry it took me so long to update. I feel kind of stupid about it, because I've actually had this chapter written for about a week, and just completely forgot about it. But better late than never, right?

* * *

Chapter Ten: Forgiven, Not Forgotten

They say time heals all wounds.

That is, of course, not true. There are some things that simply can't be healed with time. Some wounds that stay around, causing their bearer pain long after the skin has regrown and the blood has been replenished.

They tell you to forgive and forget.

How do you forget? When everything and everyone you love has been taken away from you, how do you forget? Do you think the Sudanese killed in Darfur, the Jews who lost everything in the Holocaust, the Tutsis of Rwanda who were brutally murdered by the Hutu extremists, the Native Americans killed in the name of Manifest Destiny, the Africans kidnapped from their homeland and sold as slaves, do you think they've _forgotten_?

You don't forget.

You forgive, if you can, and you move on with your life, if you can.

But you _never_ forget.

* * *

_When he first saw her, he thought she was the most perfect creature he had ever seen. The midwife assured him that all parents felt that way about their children, but he shook his head and told her it was different. Parents may all _think_ that their children are perfect, but his daughter really _was_ perfect._

_She opened her eyes, and those beautiful hazel eyes, miniature replicas of her mother's, gazed up at him in wonder. He held her in his arms and felt her weight against his chest. Her tiny hand closed around his thumb, squeezing tightly. Her grip was strong, she was healthy._

_She was his life. The loss of her mother was heartbreaking, and he would have given up then and there, but for the little child. He was all she had now, and she refused to leave her._

_She grew, and he watched her every moment. He watched her through the first temper tantrums and tears, watched as she became a teenager and took an interest in boys, watched as she became a young adult and took an interest in life. _

_She was young, so young, when it happened._

_There were many things he could have forgiven for. He did not believe himself a vengeful person, he always gave second chances. _

_But not now, not for this._

_After she was gone, he could think of one thing, and one thing only, and that was to seek revenge._

_And that began the long years that the Seeker spent hunting down the hybrid Queen.

* * *

_

Tess backed away from the man in front of her, and swallowed the fear that filled her chest. She was alone on this side street. The busy street behind her was too far away, there would be no one to hear her scream. Although, that could be a good thing, she reasoned, since there would be no one to see her use her powers.

Would there?

She chanced a quick glance at the houses around her, but they seemed empty.

"Who are you?" she demanded, her voice tense and authoritative.

"Don't you remember?" the man asked, his low voice filled with hatred. She flinched, the look in those eyes was so raw, so pained… "Oh, don't tell me you don't even know who I am?" His tone was mocking as he advanced on her. "Did my life, _her_ life, mean so little to you that you don't even recognize my face?"

"I don't know what you're talking about," Tess replied, confused.

The man shrugged and said, "Your problem, not mine, Ava."

Tess shuddered as she inwardly marveled at the amount of disgust he had managed to impart as he uttered her past name. "I don't…" she began, inching backwards, but the other man started speaking before she could finish the thought.

"I screamed… I _begged_ you not to and you…" he was at a sudden loss for words, so filled with fury that he could not form a coherent sentence. "How did someone like you ever become a Queen? What could Zan have seen in you?" he spat, his face twisted with rage.

Tess bit her lip to keep from screaming in frustration at the situation. "I don't remember anything of my past life," she said, silently praying that he would believe her. "I don't remember anything about Ava, or what she did."

The Seeker shook his head in disgust and sneered, "You think you lies will save you, little Queen?"

"They aren't lies," Tess replied stubbornly. "I _don't_ remember." She knew it was reckless to stand here and argue with the man who wanted to kill her, but if she was going to die soon, she wanted to make sure that the world knew that she didn't remember what her crime was.

The man stared at her, seeming to debate whether or not she was telling the truth. Then he sighed and said softly, "But _I_ remember. I've never been able to forget."

"I died," Tess whispered, concentrating on pulling her powers to the surface, hoping to distract him with her words. "Whatever it is I did… whatever it is _Ava_ did, she died. Isn't that enough?" She felt energy pulse in the palm of her hand, knew she could attack him now if she needed to. But she didn't know anything about this man, or what powers he had, and she knew the only way she was going to survive this encounter was if she came up with a plan.

And quickly.

"Enough?" the man laughed bitterly. "How could it be enough? You died, yes, but so did she. Why should you get another chance at life while she lies cold in her grave?"

Tess raised her hand, and the other man went flying backwards. But he seemed to slow in mid air, and landed easily on his feet. Raising his own hand, he threw it forward, and Tess felt something hit her, knocking the wind out of her and forcing her to her knees. She struggled to fight off the strange force, but it pressed down on her, and she found she could barely breathe under the weight.

He was _strong_.

Tess closed her eyes and summoned all her strength, fighting off the pressure on her shoulders. It eased for a moment, and she struggled to her feet, turning to face her attacker.

"You are weak," the man marveled as he walked towards her. "Ava would have thrown me across the street and killed me already."

"I'm not Ava," Tess struggled to say, the words choking in her throat as she fought to stay upright. He was barely moving, barely straining at all, and yet he still overpowered her easily. How?

"Is that it?" the man asked harshly, standing only inches in front of her, staring down at her petite form in disdaim. "Is this pathetic attempt at fighting all you've got?"

"No," a voice said, and both Tess and the other man turned to look at the person who suddenly appeared as though out of thin air. "She's got me," he snarled, and punched the strange alien across the face.

Surprised, the man stumbled backwards, and the force weighing down on Tess was instantly lifted. She slammed both fists forward, physically hitting him in the chest. He fell to the ground, momentarily stunned.

Then Tess did the only thing she could think of.

She gabbed her savior's hand, turned, and ran.

They made it out to the main street and ran an extra block, before Tess stopped to breathe. Then she glanced over at Kyle's worried face and said, "That was very, very stupid of you." He was a human, with no powers, attacking an alien, with an incredible amount of power, in an abandoned street. He could have been killed.

Kyle opened his mouth, found he had no idea what to say, and closed it.

Tess ran a hand through her hair and gave him a weak smile. "But thanks."

Kyle nodded. "What… who… what was that?" he asked at last, unsure as to whether or not the attacker should be qualified as a 'who' or a 'what.'

Tess shook her head slowly, her sapphire eyes clouded with worry. "I have no idea," she said quietly.

Kyle didn't know what to say to that, so he simply nodded and placed a hand around her shoulders. "Come on, let's go home," he suggested.

* * *

He had lost her. 

He was furious.

How could he have let the Queen escape? How could he have let a simple human take him by surprise?

Nicolas had lied to him. They had all lied to him, played him for the fool. If they had given him the location of the real Queen, instead of the dupe, he would not have gone to New York. He would have reached Roswell, reached the true Ava earlier. And perhaps he would have been able to complete his revenge by now.

But now his quarry had escaped before he had a chance to finish his task. Would he ever get another opportunity? The Queen would certainly alert the others to his presence soon enough.

The only way he would get another chance was if he could stir things up a little, create enough chaos that the Royal Four had too much to deal with to actively hunt him out.

He had two enemies now, Khivar and the Queen. One had escaped him, but the other would not be as lucky. He could not hurt Khivar, he knew that, but perhaps he could ruin the skin King's plans.

He thought savagely that Khivar would find out what it felt like to be played, and let the skin King see how much he liked lies and manipulations then.

He had two enemies now, and at least one of them would be dealt with tonight.

* * *

Alex gathered up the last of his scattered textbooks and walked over to the shelf next to his desk. As he returned them to their rightful place, his mind went back to his earlier conversation with Tess when she had asked him to translate the Destiny Book. He hoped he had convinced her to let him do it. It was too good an opportunity to pass up. 

_She'll figure it out. Isabel's not stupid._

He groaned. That annoying presence that still lingered underneath this body's skin was getting to be a nuisance. He wished he could silent, if only temporarily.

But, unfortunately, he knew he could not.

_You think she can't tell the difference between you and me?_

If this was a normal possession, like he knew Larek did to Brody, then the voice would be gone. The inhabitant of this pathetic body would not trouble him, rather it would be completely unaware of what was going on.

But this was not a normal possession. In a normal possession, he would not be able to access said person's memories, and without those memories he would never be able to blend in.

_You aren't blending in. They'll notice. They'll all notice._

He ran a hand through his hair and turned away from the bookshelf. He knew how to shut the voice up, if only momentarily. He knew who this person was and what they cherished, and he knew the right words to say to achieve merciful silence.

"You're right, of course," he said to the empty room, knowing the human conscious could hear him. "Isabel has noticed. Only she likes you better _now_, now that you are really _me_."

A gloomy silence was his only answer.

He gave a satisfied smile and walked from the room, shutting the door behind him. In the hallway, he listened to the sounds of footsteps from the floor below. Deciding it was best to avoid any conversations with anyone else at the moment, he moved silently down the stairs and slipped out the front door before he was seen. Then he started walking briskly towards the Crashdown, where he knew his… no, the human's… friends would be hanging out.

It was time to see if he could procure the Destiny Book.

* * *

Maria leaned back against the front counter and stared over at the far booth. Michael and Max were sitting there, discussing something in quiet undertones. Isabel was sitting across from them, looking through the front windows, clearly bored, clearly waiting for someone else. 

Was it just Maria's imagination or did Michael look over at Isabel more frequently than was normal?

"Hey," Liz said softly, appearing next to Maria. "Kind of a slow day."

Maria nodded, looking around the almost empty diner. It was a slow day, which meant that she had no one to serve. Only the pod squad was here, and at any other point during the year, she would have chosen this opportunity to walk over to Michael and see what he was doing.

But something held her back.

"He loves you," Liz whispered, and Maria shook her head, always amazed at Liz's ability to read her mind.

But she didn't answer the comment. She didn't know what to say to that. She thought Michael loved her, but was he in love with her?

The front door swung open, the bells jangling in the silence, and Alex entered. He glanced around once, gave Liz and Maria a brief smile, then walked over to Isabel. She seemed happy to see him, standing up and giving him a kiss on the cheek.

Maria frowned. Was it just her imagination, or did Michael narrow his eyes at Isabel's display of affection?

Maria turned away and walked into the back room, not wanting to watch what was happening. Something in her stomach was twisting sharply at the scene, as though she had already resigned herself to losing Michael.

She told herself she was being paranoid. She always seemed to jump to the wrong conclusions with him, and this was probably just another case of that. But she couldn't quite dismiss the fear.

Liz watched her best friend disappear through the back door and sighed. She wanted to comfort Maria because she knew exactly what the other girl was going through. But just as she was about to leave, the front door swung open again, and a man entered.

Liz stopped short, her breath catching in her throat. It was the same man that she had seen before, the one that had been acting strangely, the one that Alex had almost seemed to know.

She stood, rooted to the spot.

Max's phone rang, and he answered it. He said something quietly, under his breath, and his face paled as he heard the response. Liz, knowing the look on her boyfriend's face meant that something was very wrong, hurried over to the booth. As she neared them, Max turned to the others and said in a low tone, "Tess was just attacked by another Czechoslovakian."

The strange man turned to look over at the group. His eyes settled briefly on Max as the alien King spoke his frantic words, and then three things happened at once.

The strange man raised a brightly glowing hand and pointed it at Isabel.

Michael and Max both jumped to their feet, crying out a warning to the hybrid Princess.

And Alex threw himself forward, knocking Isabel off of her feet and out of the way of the energy blast emitting from the stranger's hand, crying out, "Vilandra, look out!"

Time stood still.

Isabel twisted from her position on the floor, her eyes widening as she looked into Alex's suddenly inhuman eyes. She opened her mouth to say something, but no sound came out. Michael and Max hesitated, clearly unsure of what to do. Liz felt a strange sensation bubbling up within her, a mix between the vindication of knowing she was right, and the overpowering fear for Alex's, the actual Alex's, safety.

"Alex…?" Isabel could barely form the name, and it came out as only a whisper.

Alex shoved himself to his feet, and turned to look at Michael and Max, who had now come out of their stupor long enough to realize the person in front of them was a threat. Then Alex chanced a look down at Isabel, and saw horror in her eyes. He wondered if she knew the truth.

Deep inside him, that annoying voice spoke up again, smug and satisfied.

_Well, they'll certainly notice now…_

By the time anyone remembered about the strange man who had attacked, he had already disappeared.

* * *

_She met him quite by chance. She had heard him speak a few times before, but always in disguise, and always at a distance. She would hang at the back of the crowd, knowing she was safest there. Once he was done with his speech, he would smile at them, and she thought he was smiling straight at her. _

_He had that talent, the ability to make each and every person in the crowd think he was speaking directly to him, and no one else._

_It was after one such talk when she met him. It was before he was really well known, while his rallies were attended mostly by locals, while he was still able to move about safely without having to worry about the Royal Guards. She was walking away from the meeting, and he happened to be walking in the same direction. She ran into him, quite literally, having not paid any attention to where she was going. He caught her easily, and steadied her, and she thanked him, blushing a deep red._

_He asked her who she was, and she lied, so as not to reveal her true identity. They spoke for what seemed like only a few moments, but ended up being hours, and she was well and truly trapped by her love for him._

_And, strangely, even without knowing who she was, he loved her back._

_They met in secret, time and again, whenever he was near the Royal Palace. For a year, they kept up their affair, as she prepared to marry another man, and he prepared to take over a planet. _

_And then he learned who she truly was. _

_And he was furious. She had lied to him, played him for a fool. Here he was, trying to overthrow her brother, and all the while she was spying on him, probably caring reports back to the King and the Court._

_She protested his accusation, she had never told her brother or her betrothed, she swore to this over and over. She begged him to believe her, but he turned and walked away. He could not believe her, not after all the lies, and he could not forgive her either._

_So they separated, Khivar and Vilandra, each going their own way, each wanting to forget the other and let their broken hearts mend._

_They tried. They moved on, Vilandra to her beloved Rath, Khivar to his campaign and his war. They left each other behind, and they forgot their love._

_Until fate stepped in, and reminded them that some things are never truly forgotten.

* * *

_

Holding on to anger and bitterness, hatred and betrayal, only causes you to suffer in the end. You must forgive if you can, because it is the only way to move on with your life.

But forgiving is not the same as forgetting.

Rome attacked Carthage, burned the city to the ground, and salted the earth so that nothing could grow there. The Carthaginians fumed at their loss, their fate.

Time passed, and the anger lessened.

More time passed, and the anger was all but forgotten. And the war became a history lesson in a textbook, a thing of the past that no one really recalled enough to grieve over.

But the salted earth remembered, and no plants grew from its soil.

There are some things that cannot be forgotten, cannot be dismissed, cannot be disregarded, cannot be overlooked.

Once they happen, the line has been crossed, and try and you might, you can't ever go back.

* * *

Author's note: So we finally start to learn a little about the Seeker and why he seeks revenge. But I want to tell you all now, for anyone who doesn't like that Ava is responsible for whatever happened to the Seeker's daughter, not everything is as it seems (i.e. neither Tess nor Ava is evil). 


	11. TwentyTwenty

Title: Providence

Disclaimer: I don't own anything

Author's note: In case this is unclear, hindsight is looking at the past, and 20/20 is perfect vision (what most people are born with), so saying that hindsight has 20/20 vision just means that everything is so much more obvious when you look back on it. It's a pretty common saying, but I wasn't sure if everyone had heard it before.

* * *

Chapter Eleven: Twenty-Twenty

Looking back, everything is so obvious. You look at what you did, what other people did, what happened because of it, and you can't figure out why you couldn't see exactly what was going to happen at the time.

The clues are always there. When you look back, and all of a sudden everything is so obvious, it isn't that some other set of clues suddenly appeared out of nowhere. They were always there, but you never really saw them before. It is like a jigsaw puzzle, where the pieces fall into place, crystal clear and diamond sharp, and everything is illuminated with a sudden rush of brilliant light.

And you're left, standing alone, staring at the past and wondering how on Earth you let this happen in the first place.

That is where the guilt comes from, the knowledge that you could have prevented something if you had just opened your eyes and seen what was right in front of you all along.

Of course, you know what they say.

Hindsight has 20/20 vision.

* * *

_The sound of shouting caused the Guard to look up in alarm, one hand falling to the weapon he always wore around his waist. He chanced a look at the Lady Vilandra, who was looking around in wide-eyed confusion, and ordered briskly, "Stay behind me, my Lady." _

_Vilandra nodded, praying that the fighting would not reach her and her guard. _

_She had wanted to go shopping today, but Zan was reluctant to let her leave on her own. Khivar's campaign to overthrow the king had resulted in several small skirmishes between the loyalists and Khivar's rebels. It was no longer safe to wander about the villages. Although Khivar himself never participated in any of the fights, his presence could be felt everywhere, edging his supporters on. His words of support, of comfort, of promise, lingered in the air long after he had moved on to another city. The people left behind continued to fight in his name. _

_Vilandra had finally agreed to allow a guard to accompany her. So they walked through the streets of the city, peering into shops and stopping for a quick bite of lunch at a local restaurant. Vilandra was, of course, in disguise, and the Guard always had his eyes open for trouble. _

_ It had been a couple years since she had last seen Khivar, since they had yelled at each other and stormed apart in a fit of rage that no apology could soothe. Things had changed, she had changed. She and Rath were to be wed in the spring, which was only six months away. She was happy with her life, and she told herself she had moved on from her previous love. _

_The shouts came closer, and the Guard was now truly worried. He turned to the Princess and pointed to a store across the street. The store was abandoned, its owner having moved out earlier in the week, no longer able to afford the rent. It had yet to be bought, so the inside was empty. It was a relatively safe place to hide. _

_"Go into that shop, my Lady," he commanded, pulling his weapon. "Stay there until myself or another guard comes for you." As he moved away from the Princess, he heard the shouts grow in volume and intensity. Whatever the conflict was, it was getting out of control. _

_Vilandra hurried over to the store and used her powers to unlock the door. She slipped inside and shut the door firmly behind her, looking around the empty room. It was a large room, and near the back she could see two more doors, which she presumed lead to separate storage areas. _

_And then she froze, because one of the doors was swinging slowly open, and a figure stepped out of it. _

_Vilandra couldn't move. Her mind stopped functioning, her heart began beating erratically, and the only thought that that entered her mind was that he had not changed at all these past two years. _

_"Khivar…" she managed to breathe. _

_

* * *

_

Nobody moved. They stood, a frozen tableau. Even the clock on the far wall appeared to have stopped ticking, and the silence that fell over the group was smothering. The moment stretched out into infinity as everyone just stared at each other, unable to think, to understand what had just happened.

It was Liz who came to her senses first, and it was Liz who grabbed the nearest object, a ketchup bottle, and threw it at Alex with all her strength. "Where is he? What did you do to Alex? Is he hurt? If you hurt him, I'll… I'll… I'll kill you! You murderer, I'll kill you!"

Alex spun around and lifted a hand to attack Liz, but a voice in his head stopped him.

_You hurt her, I will find a way to make you suffer so much you will wish you had never even considered overthrowing Zan. _

The words echoed with such venom, such passion, that he couldn't help but wonder whether or not they were actually true. The voice in his head was just a human, and not a particularly brave or strong one at that, but it was obvious he would do anything to protect his friends.

The back door flew open and Maria, attracted by the noise, came running into the diner. "What happened?" she asked breathlessly, her eyes traveling from Isabel, stunned on the floor, to Liz, screaming angrily, to Alex, ketchup dripping from his chest.

"Get out of his body!" Isabel said, her voice deathly low as she rose from the floor. Her eyes were flashing with fury, and one hand was curled into a fist at her side.

"Alex…?" Maria was clueless as to what was going on, but some part of her warned her suddenly not to interfere. Whatever had just happened has been important, and she was in no position to add her thoughts to the matter.

"I knew," Liz continued her rant. "I knew something was wrong with you! Tess even agreed." All eyes turned to Liz at that statement, but she was too caught up in her own fury to notice the puzzled expressions on her friends' faces. "I knew and I did nothing because I didn't have _proof_," she spat. There was disgust in her voice, but it was mostly directed at herself for allowing this to happen, for not coming up with a solution before, when she first realized that something was wrong. "But now I do," she finished quietly. "Now I have proof. Get out of him!"

"Or you'll what?" Alex asked, his voice twisted with anger and mocking. Isabel flinched, and wondered how she could have ever believed that this was _her_ Alex.

"I'll kill you," Liz hissed, and Isabel nodded in agreement.

"How?" Alex taunted them. "There is nothing you can do to me that won't also affect the real Alex. So unless you want me out of his body badly enough to kill _him_ also…" He smirked at them as they realized the truth in his words. There was nothing they could do to him.

It was then that Michael found his voice. "Who are you?" he demanded, walking over to Isabel and placing a protective arm around her, trying to draw her away from the dangerous stranger.

The action did not go unnoticed by Maria, whose face hardened slightly as she watched the interaction. She would have been more upset, but most of her attention was placed firmly on Alex as she struggled to determine what exactly had happened.

"Who am I?" Alex repeated, laughing darkly. "Who do you think I am, _Rath_?"

But Liz already had the answer.

"It's Khivar."

* * *

Isabel POV 

_No. _

It was the first thought that entered her mind at Liz's words, even though she was fairly certain that the human scientist was right.

"Khivar?" Maria whispered, but her gasp went unnoticed by everyone except Isabel, who turned in time to catch a brief glimpse of the jealousy that washed over the blonde human's face as she eyed Michael with Isabel still in his arms. But then she looked back at Alex again, and the jealousy was gone.

Isabel glanced up at Michael, and saw him looking down at her with a reassuring look on his face.

She shoved him away from her in sudden horror and tried to move towards the door, but paused half-way, suddenly unsure.

_No. It can't be Khivar. Because if it's Khivar…_ She couldn't finish the thought.

It didn't really matter thought, because Liz finished it for her.

"Of course it's Khivar. That's why Isabel's been so infatuated with him." At any other point in time, the comment would have been mildly insulting to the real Alex, who Liz obviously did not feel had ever truly been the love of Isabel's life. But this was not any other time, and everyone was to preoccupied to really think over the other implications of her words.

"No…" Isabel denied it, shaking her head. The words bubbled out of her throat as she tried to protest what she knew was true. "No… I didn't… that's not why…" But she couldn't even form a coherent sentence in her defense.

"Izzy?" Michael reached out to her, and she suddenly remembered Maria's jealous face.

"No," she stepped further away from him. The fear was irrational, she knew, but all the same… She couldn't look into his eyes for fear that she would see Rath staring back at her.

"My dear Vilandra, you've known all along who I was," Alex said, stepping closer to her. "You just never wanted to admit it before."

"Stay away from her," Michael threatened, raising his hand to blast Alex across the room.

"No!" Maria grabbed Michael by the arm and pulled him away before he had a chance to attack Alex.

"What?" Michael turned on his girl friend in fury. "Why did you stop me?"

"If you hurt him, you'll hurt Alex," Maria protested. The look on Michael's face replied clearly that he had no qualms about hurting Alex as long as it kept Isabel safe, and Maria was bristling with anger.

_That's going to be a big fight._ Isabel switched her gaze from Maria to the man still standing in front of her. Maria was right, of course. They couldn't hurt this man without hurting Alex, and Michael was never known to have great control over his powers.

_How could I have let this happen…? How could I have…_ But she stopped asking the question as she looked up into Alex's eyes. They were not his eyes anymore, they belonged to someone else. But they were just as beautiful, and filled with the same love.

She tore her gaze away.

_No! I will not look at him. This is not my Alex, this is not my love. _

Alex stepped past her and walked towards the door of the Crashdown.

"Where do you think you are going?" Michael demanded, spinning around to face him again.

"I'm leaving," Alex said simply, as though the answer was obvious.

Liz made some noise which Isabel thought might have been a cross between a huff of exasperation and a snort of disbelief.

"Really?" Michael asked coldly.

Alex gave them all a cocky smile. "I can kill this body in a heartbeat, even without a weapon. It is completely under my control, and I can simply destroy it. And the great thing is, it won't actually hurt me, because once I am free of it, I can just possess someone else. So unless you want to be attending a friend's funeral some time, I suggest you let me walk out of here unharmed and unhindered."

Michael started to protest, but a sharp word cut across the room, and everyone else lapsed into silence.

"Go."

All eyes turned to Max. It was the first time he had spoken since the entire incident. Something about him looked different now. Maybe it was the way he was carrying himself, the tilt of his head or the anger flashing in his eyes. Maybe it was the hardness to his voice, the fact that his word had been a sharp command. He was different now, more a king, less a boy.

"Go," he repeated, and turned away from Alex, staring over at Liz who was looking up at him with wide and worried eyes.

Isabel watched as Alex walked out of the diner.

Michael reached for her, but she stepped away. "I have to… to go and…" She didn't even bother finishing the sentence, just turned and hurried towards the backroom.

Once the door had closed firmly behind her, she shut her eyes and slid to the floor, letting the tears come quickly. The sobs racked her body as over and over she asked herself how this could have happened.

_How? Why? Why me? How could I have let this happen? Why did this happen to me? What did I do to deserve this? What did _Alex_ do to deserve this? Why? _

She knew they were not questions she could answer.

_

* * *

_

On the sidewalk outside, Alex paused a ran a hand through his hair.

_Messed that one up pretty well, didn't you? _

He groaned as the annoying voice gloated in his mind. He had messed it up, but that was not what was bothering him at the moment. The Seeker had just exposed him. He had not expected that, he had not even expected the Seeker to realize who he was. But there was no doubt in his mind that he had underestimated the Seeker, and now it was time to rectify that.

Originally the Seeker had had a role to play. He was supposed to arrive in Roswell later, or perhaps it was just that the skins were supposed to have finished their plan earlier. Either way, he was supposed to arrive after the Zan and Ava had been killed and Vilandra had been fully awoken within her hybrid form. Then, a few planted memories and a few lies from Vilandra to the Intergalactic Council, and the Seeker would be the one to take the fall.

He had always wanted a scapegoat for his plan. Out-rightly killing the king and queen would not sit well with the other worlds, although their were certainly times when he was desperate enough to consider that possibility. But when the Seeker had come along… It was as though everything had just fallen into place. He had a plan, he had a scapegoat, he had… he had _everything_.

And now it had been completely ruined.

Well, not completely. He was fairly certain that the Royal Four had no idea who the Seeker was, and that would add enough confusion to the situation that perhaps he had time to come up with a new and better plan.

_They'll find you and kill you. Doesn't matter what you do or where you run, they'll find you. _

"Let them find me," he replied confidently. Energy crackled along the skin of his palms. "Let them come and find me. They'll be no match for me."

_You can't stop the Royal Four. _

That gave him pause. In the diner, the hybrid king had certainly taken on the look of a true King. Was it possible that soon he would be dealing with four Royals and not four lost teenage hybrids?

He needed the Destiny Book. He knew where it was, or, at least, he thought he did. He had almost unlimited access to all of his human host's memories, and he was fairly certain he had managed to locate the pod chamber and the Destiny Book. It had taken hours of sifting through the memories because the human had continually found ways to switch memories around in an effort to confuse him.

Really, he decided, he had not given humans enough credit. They had some merits. In fact, the human had successfully hidden the true location of the Granolith from him which was a surprising accomplishment.

_So what if you know where the Destiny Book is? You can't get into the cave. You need an Max, Tess, Isabel, or Michael to do that. _

"Well, maybe I'll get one of them."

_That's impossible. They would never help you. _

That was probably true. Isabel, at least, would never be able to look at him again. Actually, even if he did leave the human's body, she still never be able to look at the human again. Too many reminders, too many fears. He had ruined any chance of a relationship she could have had with him, and for that he was incredibly pleased with himself.

He didn't want to risk taking on the King. Zan was too strong, and if this hybrid boy was changing into Zan, it would be too risky. He knew, in an actual fight, he would be more than able to defeat the king. But this would not be a fight, this would have to be manipulation, and Zan was not the right choice for that.

The Queen? He ruled that out almost as soon as he thought the idea. He wanted to stay as far away from her as possible because he simply didn't know the extent of her abilities, and with her power to control minds… no, that was too dangerous.

But the General? Impulsive, reckless, rash… Yes, Rath was the right choice.

A slight smile curved the corners of his lips. The four would meet tonight, along with their human friends, and they would discuss the new developments, and try to come up with a plan. Well, let them plan all they want. Tomorrow morning he would pay a visit to Rath…

* * *

Tess paused, the glass of water half way to her lips, and looked at the cell phone in her hand. She had just spoken to Max, relaying the story of what had happened. She was so tired, so scared, from her run in with this mysterious man that she wasn't even able to find pleasure in the fact that she had been right, and Max had to now admit to being wrong. 

After she had hung up on the hybrid King, she had walked into the kitchen, cell phone still in hand, and poured herself a glass of water. Kyle was still floating around in the background, as though worried that if he let her out of his sight she would spontaneously disappear.

But as she went to take a sip of the water, something strange had twisted suddenly in the pit of her stomach.

And so there she was, standing in the middle of the kitchen, her phone clenched tightly in one hand, the glass of water poised just below her mouth, her blue eyes widening in shock as she tried to discern what exactly she was feeling.

"Tess?" Kyle was at her side in a heartbeat, looking at her in concern. She looked up at him and turned away, shaking her head slowly. He reached for her arm, catching her just below the elbow. "Tess? What's wrong?"

"I don't know," Tess murmured. But something had just happened, and she knew that, whatever it was, it was serious.

She glanced back at her cell phone and began to dial Max's number. Halfway through, she paused, and erased the numbers she had typed. Thinking for a moment, she began to dial a different number.

She listened to the rings on the other end of the line, then a voice picked up. "Hello?"

"Liz? It's Tess. Something just happened with Alex, didn't it?"

_

* * *

_

_"What are you doing here?" Khivar demanded harshly. His first thought was that she was still every bit as beautiful as she had been before. His second thought was that she was probably about to lead her brother's soldiers to him, and that would be the end of his campaign. _

_"The fighting…" Vilandra gestured to the door behind her. "My Guard thought it was best for me to wait in here until…" She paused, an awkward silence falling over the room, before asking hesitantly, "What are you doing here?" _

_Khivar glared at her and did not answer for a moment, then replied bitterly, "Your brother's guards would kill me in a heartbeat if they knew where I was. What do you think I am doing? I'm hiding." He sneered at her for a moment, and then added, "Your Majesty," bowing his head in mock respect. _

_Vilandra flinched and looked away. _

_Khivar turned and walked back through the door, disappearing from sight. Vilandra stood completely still in the main room, listening to the sound of fighting outside. She knew he had not left yet, and she wanted to go up to him and explain that she had not realized that he was here, that she had not meant to lie to him before, that she had… had… _

_She thought of Rath and suddenly felt sick. She loved two men, and had no idea what to do. _

_Minutes passed, and the battle continued to rage outside. And she stood alone in the room, separated from the man she loved, the man she was supposed to hate, by only a thin wall. _

_She didn't know how long she stood there. At last, the Guard came for her, and she followed him out into the street. And he asked her if she had been safe, and she knew that Khivar was still in that building, and she should have turned him in. Knowing he was her brother and her betrothed's enemy. And knowing that, despite all that, she could not betray him. _

_"Yes, it was perfectly safe," she lied to the Guard. "I was the only one there." _

* * *

Author's note: In case this isn't clear, when I refer to Alex, I am really referring to Khivar in Alex's body. It is just easier to call him Alex. 


	12. Mistakes We Knew We Were Making

Title: Providence

Disclaimer: I don't own anything

Author's note: The quoted line (in italics at the very beginning of the chapter) is from the song _I Hope You Dance_ by Lee Ann Womack. As usual, italics are flashback to Antar.

* * *

Chapter Twelve: Mistakes We Knew We Were Making

_Living might mean taking chances, but they're worth taking. Lovin' might be a mistake, but it's worth making. _

It seems so simple. You have to take chances because nothing worth having ever comes easily. And most of the time, those risks are worth taking. You have to be able to make mistakes, because nothing worth knowing ever comes without a few setbacks. And you can usually learn from those mistakes and continue on your way.

So chances and mistakes are okay, right?

But there are those few times when you know what you are doing is a mistake even before you've started. And you know the risk associated with the chances you are taking is too great to be outweighed by the gains. But you take the chance anyway, and you make the mistake knowingly, and when it all comes crashing down you have no one but yourself to blame.

Or perhaps it is not that black and white. Perhaps you have several paths to choose from, and you can't figure out which one to take because you simply can't decide which one yields the better outcome. Some have greater risks and greater gains, some are safer but you don't achieve as much in the end. Sometimes some course of action goes against your heart, and another goes against your head, and you are stuck trying to figure out which one is the better one to follow.

What do you do then?

Because the song isn't always true; there are some chances that simply aren't worth taking and some mistakes that simply aren't worth making.

Life is never simple, never easy, never clear cut, and sometimes you do the wrong thing knowingly, and sometimes you don't know what the right thing is, and sometimes... sometimes no matter how hard you try, no matter how much you may want to make the right decision, all you end up doing is messing everything up.

* * *

"_You shouldn't be here."_

"_I know."_

_Vilandra shivered in the cool morning breeze and looked around the empty square. It was early, too early for any of the merchants and businessmen to be up and about, so the royal city was rather quiet. The Princess was cloaked in a dark black robe with a hood that hid her pale features from view. _

_Khivar stood in front of her. He too was disguised, his hood pulled low over his forehead so that it shadowed his eyes. Although he had yet to break any laws, the King's soldiers had been told to keep their eyes open for him, and to bring him in for questioning if they found him. He was too dangerous of a man to be allowed to wander around without supervision. _

_He did not need the disguise, though, for no one would think to look for him here. He was a fool to walk right into the royal city where his opposition lived, where his enemy's soldiers would be sure to spot him._

_And so, since no one assumed he would be foolish enough to enter the city, they did not look for him, and he found he could move around quite easily. _

_Of course, he had not counted on Vilandra wandering around the city by herself as well. He did not know what had caused her to leave the safety of the palace. He could see frustration in her eyes, and wondered if something had happened between her and her betrothed or her brother. _

_The two had suddenly run into each other. It was the second time in a week, and this came after two years of complete avoidance. It seemed as though destiny was determined to throw them together. _

"_Are you going to report me to your brother?" Khivar asked bitterly. His pain at her perceived betrayal, that she could be with him for so long without telling him who she was, still rankled, and he could not yet bring himself to forgive her for that._

_Vilandra looked away. "Why shouldn't I?" she asked softly._

_Khivar replied with a cruel smile, "Do whatever you think is best."_

"_And what if my head and my heart are telling me different things?" she asked, her whispered words filling the space between them._

_Khivar gave her a look, then said, "Follow whichever you believe to be accurate."_

_Vilandra swallowed. "You shouldn't be here," she repeated._

"_I know," Khivar replied again. He turned and walked away, and she watched him disappear into the early morning mist._

* * *

"What now?" 

"What do you mean, what now?" Michael demanded angrily, turning his attention to Liz. "We find Khivar and kill him."

"How? How can we do that without putting Alex's life in danger?" Maria cut in with an angry glare at her boyfriend. He was so eager to stop their enemy that he seemed to have conveniently forgotten that they also had to worry about Alex's safety.

"Can you force Khivar out of Alex's mind?" Liz asked, glancing over at Tess. When Tess had called, she had informed the blonde of everything that had happened, and Tess had agreed to meet the others at the Crashdown. Kyle had stayed behind to explain to his father what was going on, and Max had gone to check on Isabel, who was still hiding in the back room of the diner. That left only Tess, Michael, Maria, and Liz to discuss strategy.

"I could try," Tess said doubtfully. "I've never done it before. It would probably be easier if Isabel helped me, if we could get into his dreams…" She pondered the idea for a while, weighing her different options.

"Would it hurt Alex?" Maria asked.

Tess shrugged. "It might," she replied. "I honestly don't know. I doubt it would kill him, but it probably won't be to pleasant for him to have people waging a battle inside his head."

"I don't want to hurt him."

"None of us want to hurt him, Maria, but it might be inevitable at this point," Tess replied. "Especially if our other option is to let Khivar continue to reside in Alex's body."

"Or we could just figure out what Khivar wants and try to make a deal with him," Maria suggested.

"I think it is pretty obvious what Khivar wants," Michael said darkly, shooting a glance at the backroom where he knew Max and Isabel were talking. Tess nodded in agreement, and Liz ran a hand through her hair worriedly. Only Maria did not seem too worried about the implications of Michael's comment.

"So? Just have Isabel tell him that she doesn't love him and that takes care of that," Maria said dismissively, not understand the actual danger Isabel could be in.

"We don't know whether or not Isabel does love him," Tess pointed out. "We really don't know a thing about Vilandra. It is too dangerous."

"I agree," Michael announced with a nod.

"So you are willing to let Alex's life be in danger but you aren't willing to consider putting Isabel at risk?" Maria hissed, her hands on her hips.

"I would prefer not to put anyone's life at risk," Liz said softly, her gentle voice cutting into the argument. "But if that isn't an option, then I think it is better to try to force Khivar out of Alex's head than to allow Vilandra free reign. We have a better chance a of success with that plan."

"How can you take their side?" Maria snapped at Liz.

"There aren't sides," Liz shot back. "Don't you see that?"

"You're choosing Isabel over Alex! Of course there are sides," Maria said angrily, her eyes narrowed at Liz. Liz glared back defiantly, and Maria turned on her heel and marched from the room.

Michael watched her go, torn between the desire to talk to her, to try to explain his view point, and the annoyance that she would ever consider allowing Isabel to be put in danger. He understood her opinion on the matter, he truly did, but didn't she see that if Vilandra was awoken, Isabel could be in so much more danger that Alex currently was?

Liz gave Michael an annoyed look when he didn't run after Maria, and she turned and followed her friend out of the diner.

Tess sunk into one of the booths and said, "We still have to worry about the guy who attacked me."

"Yeah," Michael agreed. "Don't worry about Maria, she'll come around," he said.

Tess shook her head and muttered under her breath, "I wouldn't count on it." As annoyed at Maria as she was, she couldn't help but understand completely what Maria was thinking. After all, if it had been Kyle or Jim who was currently possessed, could she honestly say that she wouldn't consider risking Isabel's life and sanity to save them?

But Michael didn't hear her comment, and merely continued, "As for the man who attacked you, I looked into it a little, and I actually think I might know where he lives."

"How?" Tess asked, surprised and slightly suspicious.

"Oh, Jim and I did a little research when you first told Max about your concerns," Michael replied carelessly. "It wasn't too hard to find him because there really aren't that many tourists in Roswell right now." He gave the statement offhandedly, not realizing how much of an impact it would have on Tess.

But the petite hybrid narrowed her eyes and said, "And what did Max think of your investigation?" She found it difficult to believe that Max would have allowed Michael to continue this search. Perhaps if it had been Isabel, certainly if it had been Liz, but Michael…? The taciturn alien was not known for his ability to be either subtle or discreet, and Max would hardly have been willing to risk Michael screwing everything up. Especially since he didn't want the investigation in the first place.

"Um…" Michael squirmed and wondered how angry Max would be with him after he revealed this next bit of information. "Actually… it was Max's idea."

Tess stared at him, flabbergasted. A million emotions rushed through her, the first of which was pleasure that Max had taken her opinion seriously. But that was followed shortly by confusion; why hadn't he told her what he was doing? And then anger ran through her veins as she realized that he had lied to her.

"Let me guess," she said coldly, "he knew I was right, but he didn't actually want to admit that to me, so he made you do everything in secret." She was getting angrier by the minute, her words laced with a bitter venom.

"No, Tess…"

But Tess ignored Michael and continued, "Or was it that he didn't trust me to look into the problem discreetly? Did he think I would betray us to this man? Or was it merely that he felt it necessary to separate himself from me so much that he couldn't even agree with my ideas?"

And Michael really had no idea what to say to that, because he had no idea what Max had been thinking at the time.

* * *

"Maria, wait!" Liz caught up with her friend on the street outside the diner, grabbing the blonde human by the arm and forcing her to stop. 

"What?" Maria demanded angrily. "Wait for what?" She was shaking with anger as she stared at Liz, her eyes cold and hostile. "You betrayed us, Liz. You sided with _them_ over Alex!"

"There aren't sides, Maria. Why won't you open your eyes and see that?" Liz shot back, frustrated at Maria's determination to believe that the issue was simpler than it really was. This was a complex problem, and no matter what they did, someone was going to get hurt somehow, whether physically, mentally, or emotionally.

"Of course there are sides," Maria replied with a huff. "You've just obviously taken theirs." She slanted a look at Liz and continued viciously, "Or is it just that you've taken Max's side?"

Liz stepped back as though she had been slapped. "I would never choose to put Alex in danger simply because I'm dating Max," Liz spat.

"Didn't you hear Tess when she said that it could hurt Alex?" Maria demanded.

"Didn't you hear Michael when he said that it could endanger Isabel?" Liz retorted.

"So you are choosing Isabel over Alex," Maria repeated, as though this was the obvious conclusion.

Liz sighed and looked away, realizing that in some ways she was choosing Isabel over Alex. But the problem at hand was not that black and white, and she was trying to do what would be best for everyone involved. There was no guarantee that handing Isabel over to Khivar would save Alex, Khivar could easily trick them. Kicking Khivar out of Alex's mind was their best bet, and it meant not putting Isabel in any danger.

"Look, no matter what we do, we have to think about the plan carefully," Liz said at last. "Rushing into something may only serve to get all of us killed."

"And if we wait? We just leave Alex in danger?" Maria asked incredulously.

"No more danger than he would be in if we tried a plan that we hadn't thought all the way through," Liz snapped. She was tired of being the bad guy in this argument, the person who had turned on her friends. She was trying to keep Alex alive, and rushing off into some harebrained scheme was not the right way to do that.

As she thought about this, she suddenly saw the irony of the situation, because it was just a little while ago that she and Tess had been arguing over what to do about Alex; and then Tess had been the one saying they had to wait and proceed with caution, and Liz had been arguing that they needed to do something, and quickly.

She still believed they needed to act quickly, but now that she appreciated the interwoven complexities of the dilemma, she also knew they had to act rationally.

"I can't _believe_ you. I can't believe you would be arguing this."

Liz shrugged and said, "Fine."

"What?" That response had taken Maria by surprise.

"If you can't believe me, then don't," Liz said slowly. "I'm not going to bother trying to change your mind on this one because I can't believe that you would _ever_ think that I would put Alex's life in any more danger than it is already in." Giving Maria one last hard stare, she turned and walked back towards the diner.

Maria shook her head and closed her eyes. Her head knew that Liz was right, Michael was right, Tess was right. That plan had a much greater success rate. But her heart was screaming in fear because Alex was in danger, and she didn't know what to do.

* * *

"Talk to me." 

"And say what, Max?" Isabel demanded, her voice hoarse. "I just let our sworn enemy possess one of our best friends, and I didn't even know what I was doing."

"And you can't blame yourself for not knowing," Max replied pointedly, taking a seat on the floor next to his sister.

"But I should have known!" Isabel hissed, wiping away a few tears and staring up at the ceiling, refusing to meet Max's eyes.

Max fought back the urge to point that, on some level, she had known it was Khivar, and that was why she had been so in love with him. But knowing that saying that would only cause his sister more pain, he said simply, "We all should have known. The fault for this lies on all of us, not just you."

"What are we going to do?" Isabel whispered. She closed her eyes and pictured Alex's smiling face, and a stifled sob escaped her throat. But the image behind her closed eyelids slowly changed until it was no longer her Alex staring at her, but a different man with inhuman brown eyes and a cruel smile.

How could she have been so stupid?

"We'll find a way to get him out of Alex's body," Max said calmly. "We won't let him hurt Alex… or you."

"Maybe we should just give him what he wants," Isabel suggested slowly. "Tell him if he stops using Alex, then we'll…"

"What? What will we do?" Max demanded. "Izzy, what he wants is _you_."

"I know," Isabel replied calmly. "But I don't want him. So tell him you'll give him Vilandra, and then he'll realize that she doesn't want him and…"

"What if she does?" Max asked quietly. "We don't know anything about Vilandra. What if she does want him. What if she stays with him. You would be lost forever."

"You're talking about us like we are two different people," Isabel retorted, shaking her head. "I wouldn't be lost because I am Vilandra as well. And I know that I don't want Khivar. I'm not in love with him. I'm in love with Alex."

Again, Max fought back the urge to contradict her. She wasn't in love with Alex, she had never been in love with Alex. She loved the version of Alex that Khivar had possessed, and that was not the same as loving Alex.

Instead, he said slowly, "Izzy, think about what you are saying. This is too dangerous…"

"No, it isn't!" Isabel argued, a touch of hysteria creeping into her voice. Why wouldn't he listen to her, why wouldn't he understand? "Tell him to get out of Alex's body and you'll give him me. Once Alex is safe, I can walk away."

"Can you?" Max asked angrily. Why wouldn't she listen to reason?

"I don't love Khivar," Isabel repeated, shaking her head. "I've never loved Khivar." Didn't they understand why she had to do this? Didn't they see that she had to prove to herself and Khivar that she _could_ walk away from him? That she didn't love him? "He tricked me, he lied to me, he manipulated me. I thought I loved him, but I don't. It was just infatuation, and I'm not in love with him, I'm in love with Rath!"

There was a dead silence in the room as Max stared at her, his eyes wide with shock. The air was heavy with meaning and Isabel instantly attempted to cover her mistake.

"I mean, I love Alex. Not Khivar. _Alex_."

But Max just stared at her, and she looked away, suddenly unsure and confused.

* * *

"_You shouldn't be here."_

"_I know."_

_She thought of Rath, and guilt drenched through her. She thought of Zan, and her heart hammered with shame. But she thought of Khivar, and that brought her to this square every morning for the past week, where she knew he would be waiting._

_Their greeting was always the same. She would tell him that he shouldn't be here, and he would agree with her sentiment. Sometimes he would add that she should not be here as well, and she would nod to that statement. _

_Their conversation consisted of little else, it was unsafe for either to stay for long periods of time. But they still met for a few moments each morning, both knowing it was a mistake, both coming anyway. _


	13. Fire

Title: Providence

Disclaimer: I don't own anything

Author's note: Thanks to everyone who reviewed. The phrase 'to see red' means that you are really, really angry. I don't really have anything else to say here, so on with the story!

* * *

Chapter Thirteen: Fire

When you are angry, angry enough to 'see red,' the world melts away into a shimmer of fire that dances before your eyes. Your insides twists with anger and fury and hatred. Your jaw clenches tightly and your hands curl into fists and you are _livid_.

Fire burns.

Sparks fly from that fire and ignite on the dry grass around you, catching flames immediately, until that shimmering fire you feel turns into full blown volcano of hot lava and dried up ash.

Be careful lest you get caught in that storm.

* * *

_Vilandra paused in the hallway, the echoes of soft voices drifting towards her. Pressing herself flat against the wall, she listened, holding her breath as she heard her name._

"_But Vilandra goes out in the mornings…" That voice she recognized instantly as Zan's._

"_Are you worried about her?" And that was definitely Rath's gruff voice._

"_We have gardens all over the palace she could walk in, and she leaves the gates? Why?" Zan questioned. Even Vilandra could hear the suspicion in his tone._

"_Do you suspect her of something?"_

"_Of course not, Rath!" There was a pause, then Zan continued in a calmer voice. "It is dangerous in the city. And Vilandra… my sister is a passionate woman. She feels her emotions strongly, but sometimes they are not accompanied by the best judgment."_

"_You fear Khivar or his men will attack her?" Rath questioned. There was another pause, then he asked in a shrewd tone, "Or do you fear they will persuade her to help them? Manipulate her so that she does not realize what she is doing?"_

"_I don't know what I fear," Zan said at last, his voice soft and perplexed. "But sometimes… sometimes I fear her."_

_Vilandra turned and ran, her feet slapping the hard floor of the corridor. She did not care if they heard her, she did not care if her brother knew that she had been eavesdropping. She cared for nothing at that moment save the words that echoed in her mind._

_Sometimes I fear her…_

_How could he? She was his sister! If he had fears, why did he not address her directly? And how could he possibly think so little of her that she would be easily swayed to put his life, or the planet, in any danger?_

_She swallowed back the lump in her throat and paused, her vision swimming with burning tears. _

_How could he?_

* * *

The night was cool, cooler than he had expected it to be. The days were boiling hot, the sun causing rivulets of sweat to constantly drip into his eyes, burning with their salt. He had not expected the nights to be this damp, and he found he was shivering in the open air. 

Wrapping his arms tightly around himself, he glanced around the darkened desert. He needed badly to think… He wished he knew what Khivar was planning.

Would he ever be able to achieve his revenge? He knew that whatever Khivar was planning, it was clearly meant to be an attack on the Royal Four. If the skin king had his way, Ava would be dead long before anyone else had a chance…

The Seeker sighed and rubbed his bleary eyes. He had not slept in several days, the anticipation building inside of him. But it was deflating now, slipping away into the night air and leaving him empty and confused.

He wondered where he fit into Khivar's plans. Khivar would not have agreed to help him attack the Queen unless there was something for him to gain from it. At first, the Seeker had assumed that it was merely a chance for Khivar to have one of the Royals killed without actually having to kill said Royal himself. But if Khivar was here, he had obviously planned on bringing about the end of the Royal Four with his own two hands… or powers, as the case may be. So where did the Seeker fit into this?

It dawned on him with startling clarity. He was to be the scapegoat. He was to take the fall.

He clenched his hands into fists, his nails biting at the skin of his palm. Khivar had played him, and he would pay.

Unbidden, a memory came to mind.

_The brilliant blue sky stretched out for miles, the rays of sunlight cascading across the dark green grass. All around the grave, twisted trees grew, their branches intertwining with each other to create a protective canopy of leaves and vines. _

_He knelt next to the grave and carefully lay a bouquet of periwinkle blue flowers against the headstone. A few stray tears fell from his eyes, leaving tiny trails along his face as they slipped to the ground._

_He could think of nothing to say. There as nothing to say. The air was heavy, silent, and he knelt alone, his body weak with grief._

_A hand fell onto his shoulder, and he looked up at the man had approached. Standing quickly, he wiped his dirty hands on his pants and said, "My Lord Kree," bowing his head as he spoke. _

_Kree was his landlord, a tall man with dark eyes and dark hair, and a short temper. He had a muscular build and an aura about him that seemed to radiate confidence and strength. _

"_How are you?" he asked, his gruff voice low and filled with concern._

_The Seeker gave a dry laugh and replied, "I do not know." He looked down at the grave and murmured, "It is very kind of you to donate such a place as this for my daughter's burial."_

"_I remember when she was a little girl, I used to find her in this grotto at all hours of the day. She would just sit under the trees and play with the broken branches and leaves, or perhaps read a book." The landlord paused, remembering the vivacious and imaginative girl who had grown up in front of him. "She loved this place, and it seemed only fitting that she should rest here."_

_The Seeker nodded, his throat too dry to speak. She had always had a more active imagination than anyone else he knew, and he had found her at odd hours camped out under these trees, playing some make-believe tale with her imaginary elf and fairy friends_

"_Her death has hurt us all," Kree continued. "If there is anything we can do for you, please, do not hesitate to inform me or my wife…"_

"_I thank you for your kindness," the Seeker replied. "But all that I want now is to bring her killer to justice."_

_The landlord said nothing, for they both knew the child would never get that justice. Her killer was too important, too far out of the reach of ordinary men and women, to be brought down by a poor farmer or his landlord._

_Eventually Kree left as silently as he had come, melting away into the trees. The Seeker stared down at the grave and a thousand thoughts entered his mind. He had spent his nights dreaming of how he would repay the Queen. How he would attack her until she begged for mercy. How he would take away everything she ever cared about, how he would make her suffer. He woke up every morning to the light of the sun over the distant horizon and watched as the night sky burst into the flaming red and orange of sunrise; and he would clench his jaw so tightly that his head would hurt and the world would turn into a mist of fire and rage._

_No matter what the cost, he would make the Queen pay._

The Seeker shook his head to clear the thought from his mind. He did not want to remember that day, did not want to remember that grave. The only thing he wanted now was to complete his mission. Then he could leave this world and those memories behind, and flee.

Without Khivar's help, he knew he would get caught. The Intergalactic Council would see what he had done, see that he had not honored the agreement, and they would come after him. He could run, but they would catch him eventually; he could hide, but they would find him eventually. No matter what he did, he would end up being forced to pay for it.

He suddenly found he did not care. Let Khivar use him as a scapegoat. Let the Council come after him with a vengeance. As long as he completed his mission, as long as Ava paid for what she had done, he did not care for anything else. His own life meant nothing as long as she lost hers.

But whatever Khivar was planning, there was no doubt in his mind that it would interfere with his plans for revenge. He would have to move quickly or the skin king would beat him to it.

* * *

Alex knocked on the door of Michael's apartment and stuck his hands in his pockets. Leaning back on his heels, he waited calmly until the door swung open to reveal a confused, and then infuriated, Michael. 

Michael lifted his hand automatically, but Alex merely shook his head and laughed.

"Now, you don't really want to do that, do you?" he asked, giving Michael a smooth grin and a pointed look. Stepping past Michael, he walked into the apartment and looked around. Surveying the sofa with distaste, he remarked coldly, "Well, it is nice to see that Rath, the great General, the Second in Command to the King of Antar, the leader of the Royal Armies, has managed to create such a dignified life for himself."

"What do you want?" Michael demanded.

"Now, really, would it be so much trouble for you to show some manners? You don't invite me into your home, you don't ask me if I would like anything to drink… Clearly your parents did not do a good job in raising you." Alex stopped and gave a mocking smile. "Oh, right, I forgot. You never really had parents, did you?"

Michael slammed his hand forward and a burst of energy radiated from his palm, smashing into Alex and sending him flying through the air. He smashed into the far wall and fell to the ground with a sickening thud.

Before Michael had a chance to do anymore damage, however, Alex raised a hand and Michael found himself suddenly unable to breathe. It was as though something was choking him, tightening around his throat and constricting his windpipe.

Alex got to his feet and gave a short laugh. "Do you really think you can stop me? You are nothing more than a reincarnated pathetic excuse for the once great general." He dropped his hand and Michael gasped for breath, his fingers flying to his throat in relief.

"What do you want?" Michael growled again.

"I want the Destiny Book. Which I understand is in the pod chamber. And you are going to get it for me." Alex smiled and settled himself onto the sofa, waiting for Michael's answer.

"No."

Alex sighed. "I was afraid you were going to say that," he replied slowly. "It would have been so much easier if you had merely agreed when I first asked. I don't want to have to do this the hard way."

"And what way would that be?" Michael demanded coldly.

Alex shrugged and leaned back against the cushions. "I know where the pod chamber is. I have learned the extent of what I need to know from this human, so there really is not much of a reason to keep him alive, is there?"

"Are you threatening to kill Alex?" Michael asked, slightly worried. He realized abruptly that he was out of his depth in this one because he had no idea whatsoever how to stop Khivar.

"Only if I have to," Alex replied.

"And what does this have to do with me letting you into the pod chamber?" Michael hissed.

"Are you really that slow?" Alex asked impatiently, running his hand through his hair. "Do I actually have to spell it all out for you?" He tilted his head to one side and mused, "You know, it is a pity that they were apparently able to endow you with Rath's essence, but not his intelligence."

Michael swallowed back an angry retort and said firmly, "Spell it out for me, Khivar, because I don't want to bother."

"Take me to the pod chamber and let me in, or bring me the Destiny Book," Alex said, speaking slowly an enunciating each word as though he was speaking to a two-year-old. "If you don't, I'll kill this body and possess another one of your friends. And if they won't help me, I'll move on, and on, and on…" Alex gave a wide smile and asked mockingly, "I wonder what it would be like to possess your girlfriend? She seems… spunky."

"Stay away from Maria," Michael growled.

"Or maybe Vilandra…" Alex continued. "Although, if I possessed her, I wouldn't be able to…"

But whatever Alex had been about to say was cut off by Michael, who suddenly stepped forward and lifted Alex from the sofa, throwing him across the room and watching as he collapsed to the floor.

"Don't you dare even think about Isabel," Michael spat, his entire body shaking with pent up fury. "Don't you dare! Or I promise you finding the Destiny Book and the Granolith will be the least of your problems."

Alex raised an eyebrow. "I didn't say anything about the Granolith," he said softly. "Why do you bring it up?" And then a look of comprehension dawned in his eyes and he said in surprise, "The Granolith is in the pod chamber, isn't it?"

Michael said nothing, just looked at his enemy with defiant dark eyes. At last, he asked, "Why don't you just possess me and use my powers to enter the cave?"

"I can't," Alex admitted reluctantly. "Unfortunately even if I possess your body, the cave would recognize my essence, and know that it is not yours, and it would not open for me… Really, it is pity, because it would make things so much easier."

"I'm not helping you," Michael said firmly.

"The choice is yours, Rath," Alex said with a shrug, resettling himself onto the sofa. "But I suggest you rethink your decision. I don't need this body, and you can't keep me from the others. I don't make idle threats, so this is your one and only chance." He folded his arms over his chest and looked up at Michael with a smug smirk fixed firmly onto his face. "How many people are you going to let die before you take me to the pod chamber?"

Michael stared at him in an angry silence, troubled thoughts running frantically through his mind.

* * *

"_Vilandra, my love, what is wrong?" Khivar asked, reaching up to brush away a stray tear that had slipped from the Princess' beautiful eyes._

"_My brother doesn't trust me," Vilandra explained. "He thinks you will manipulate me into betraying him."_

"_He told you this?" Khivar asked, surprised. The morning mist swirled about their feet as they walked through the city streets. They were both getting bolder, staying longer in the city, talking more openly with each other._

"_No," Vilandra replied, disgust creeping into her voice. "He couldn't even give me that much respect. He was speaking to Rath about it behind my back."_

"_What did Rath say?" Khivar pressed._

_Vilandra shook her head. "I don't know. He didn't defend me and then I… I ran away. I couldn't listen to it any longer. I do not know what else they said about me."_

"_Vilandra… Lonnie… look at me." Vilandra stopped and turned to face Khivar fully. "I would never ask you to betray your brother. I love you and I couldn't… I couldn't do that to you. You must believe me."_

_Vilandra nodded, swallowing back the lump that formed in her throat. "But haven't I already betrayed him and Rath?" she asked. "Just by being here, with you… You are enemies."_

"_No, we are not," Khivar replied. "Your brother and I both want the same thing, Lonnie. We want what is best for Antar. We just have different ideas about what is best."_

"_He is the king, it is his ideas that matter," Vilandra whispered._

"_Really?" Khivar questioned. "And if you disagreed with him, you would say nothing? Even if you thought he was hurting the planet, hurting _your_ planet?"_

"_Oh, I don't know!" Vilandra cried in frustration. "I don't know because I can never discuss any of it with him." It had been a long time since Zan had asked her what she thought of his different policies. At first she had assumed it was because he realized how much such questions and conversations bored her. But now she couldn't help but wonder whether that was the reason, or whether it was because he no longer trusted her. Did he think she was going to betray him if he told her too much?_

"_Then let me show you," Khivar murmured, running a hand through her hair and watching as the silver-blonde strands cascaded through his fingers. "Let me show you what I am doing, and you can see for yourself if you agree or disagree with my methods and my beliefs."_

_Vilandra hesitated, torn between her loyalty to her brother and her anger at his previous words. Khivar was smiling at her, so gently, his expression filled with so much understanding…_

"_Alright," she agreed at last._

* * *

It doesn't matter why you are angry. It doesn't matter who or what you are angry at. It doesn't matter if your anger is justified. It doesn't matter how you deal with that anger. 

Don't let your anger run away with you.

Anyone who gets caught in the red of that fire-fury will eventually end up as nothing more than a burned out husk.


	14. Progress

Title: Providence

Disclaimer: I don't own anything

Author's note: This chapter takes place exclusively in the past lives of the Royal Four on Antar. It takes place a few months after the end of the flashback in the last chapter where Vilandra agrees to listen to Khivar's point of view. It's mostly a filler chapter. I'll get back to Earth, the pod squad, and all of those conflicts in the next chapter.

Two other points I want to address. First, the whole Khivar not possessing Michael deal. Here's the reasoning; Khivar could possess Michael if he wanted (he can possess anyone except Tess because, due to her mind-warp abilities, she'd be able to fight him off) but if he tried to open the pod chamber, it still wouldn't open for him. The pod chamber would sense his 'essence' inside Michael, and know that it wasn't actually Michael who was trying to gain access. And my own personal belief is that the pod chamber only opens for the Royal Four. That was why he possessed Alex instead, he was trying to revert Isabel into Vilandra, and then she would help him open the pod chamber willingly. Obviously the Seeker screwed that all up.

Also, about the Seeker: the chapter after this should reveal _a lot_ about the Seeker, what happened to his daughter, and how Ava fits in. Not everything, but a lot.

* * *

Chapter Thirteen: Progress

_Standing here  
The old man said to me_  
"_Long before these crowded streets  
Here stood my dreaming tree."  
Below it he would sit  
For hours at a time  
Now progress takes away  
What forever took to find.  
--Dave Matthews 'The Dreaming Tree'_

What is progress? The dictionary defines it as the steady improvement of a civilization or society. Of course, that begs the question, what is improvement?

* * *

"With all due respect, my Lord, I must disagree with your opinion on these matters," Rath stated firmly as he paced the throne room. His entire body was quivering with pent-up rage, his tawny eyes flashing dangerously. He was angry, and his pounding footsteps made that perfectly clear. 

Zan was seated on his throne. The two were alone in the room, which was ideal because neither would have liked their subjects to see their disagreement. Each was furious with the other, and not willing to back down from his stance.

"And why is that?" Zan growled dangerously. He had always believed that having a Second-in-Command who was not afraid to challenge his assumptions was essential to being a good leader. He was not above making mistakes, and like everyone else, he needed someone who would point out those mistakes.

However, this was one of the times that he sorely wished he was not being challenged.

"Even if Vilandra has spoken to the Rebels in Surdi, it does not necessarily mean that she has betrayed us to them," Rath said, enunciating each word carefully. "I would not leap to conclusions about her loyalties without more proof."

"Neither would I," Zan agreed readily. "However, it is an unusual coincidence that information known only to the four of us has found its way to Khivar only hours after she herself was in the region of Surdi." He said it mildly, but his words were underlined with steel. It pained him to think this about his sister, but what other conclusion could he come to?

"She traveled to the region to provide aid for those injured in the recent battles," Rath countered. "It was a charity mission, one that _you_ approved."

Zan sighed. "Indeed. And it was obviously a flawed plan on my part, but how could I foresee this complication?"

"And so you jump to condemn her?" Rath demanded harshly. He paused in his pacing long enough to regard Zan with an appraising glare.

"Do not delude yourself into thinking that you are the only one who is hurt by this conversation," Zan admonished sharply, his eyes narrowing. "She is _my_ sister." He rose and walked down from the dais, covering the short distance between the two. "It pains me greatly to think these thoughts about someone I hold so dear, but I cannot risk my planet's welfare. I must keep an eye on Vilandra, and if you will not help me with this, than I shall find someone who will."

"You fear Khivar?"

"Yes." Zan turned and looked across the room at the window on the far wall. It looked out over a large expanse of ocean. The castle itself sat on a cliff hovering over a beautiful bay of blue-green water and white sand. It was at that very bay, on the beach, that Zan and Ava had been married, and it was there that they both swore their love for each other and for the country.

"Khivar is troublesome, to be sure, my Lord," Rath conceded slowly, "but he is hardly a threat to you. He is a leader of rebels, men who camp in the hills and fight at night when there is no one to see them coming."

"And more men flock to him every day," Zan replied. "I do not fear him now, but I fear what he may become. I fear his potential to ruin us all." He faced Rath again. "Khivar is a strong leader, Rath. He can convince others to join his cause and make it seem like it was their idea. The reports I have received from my spies… Yes, I am afraid."

"I cannot help you accuse Vilandra," Rath said at last, his shaking voice breaking the silence. "I cannot, in good conscious, be a party to that which I do not approve. Especially not when it is my betrothed."

Zan shook his head and walked back to his throne. "Very well," he said shortly. "You may go." It was a blunt dismissal, an impolite one that was only used on those of much lesser rank. Rath paused, bristled slightly, and gave a sharp nod of his head.

"As you wish, Sire," he said coldly, and left the room.

Once he was gone, Zan rested his head on the palms of his hands. War was coming, he could feel it in his bones, and it unnerved him to know that he might not have the loyalty of his sister or his Second.

"You ask to much of him, Zan," a soft voice said, and Zan turned quickly, craning his neck around the back of the throne.

Standing in the shadows, half hidden near the servants door in the back corner of the room, was Ava. Her blonde hair was pulled out of her face and twisted into a simple, yet elegant, knot. She was wearing a long blue dress that matched the color of her eyes and fell to the floor in delicate folds of fabric. The dress bunched slightly around her stomach, revealing the slight bump, the sign that she was pregnant.

"I ask too much?" Zan retorted. "I seek only the safety of my kingdom and my subjects." He stood and walked towards her. "How long have you stood there, Ava? How much have you heard?"

"Enough to know you asked a man to betray his love," Ava replied.

That stopped Zan in his tracks. He did not want her to contradict him, he wanted her support. She was his wife, she was _supposed_ to support him. He frowned at his wife, his eyes colder than she would have thought possible. Then he turned his back to her abruptly, and said, "His love has already betrayed him. Betrayed us all."

"Perhaps," Ava agreed. "But Vilandra is still the General's love, traitor or not." She reached up and placed a hand on his elbow, but he shrugged her off and stepped further away.

"Leave me," Zan commanded.

Ava stepped around Zan and walked towards the main doors. She paused with her hand resting on doorknob and turned back. "Tell me something. If I had betrayed you to Khivar, would you seek retribution upon me?"

"My duty is to my people," Zan replied icily, still not looking at his wife. "I would not gamble with their lives."

"But duty is a theoretical concept, much more complex when actually called into action," Ava replied easily. "And you have duties to many others besides your people. You have duty to your family, to yourself, to your God. When those duties conflict, what then?" She brushed one hand over her skirt, smoothing out the wrinkles.

Zan turned and faced her fully, his eyes filled with wrath. "The decision is difficult enough without complicating it, Ava. I will not discuss politics with you."

Ava inclined her head. "You are lost, because no matter what choice you make, you will be hurting someone dear to you. So you ask yourself, do you betray your sister or your people?" Her voice had dropped into no more than a faint whisper, but her words still cut deep. "If you prove her a traitor, will you have the courage to see her hung?"

Zan gripped his hands into fists. Indecision flashed briefly through his eyes. "If I reveal her to be a traitor, I will do what must be done," he said firmly, although his voice shook. Only Ava could get under his skin like this, could ask him all the questions he did not want to think about. Only she could force him to stare the problem straight in the face and not back away.

"And what is that?" Ava asked.

Zan had no answer to give.

"I am not trying to make the decision any more difficult for you. But it is a grave decision, and many lives will be changed by your choice. I seek only to make sure you do not make the decision in haste or reckless speed." Ava gave another bow of her head and swept from the room.

Outside, the sun began to sink behind the horizon, and the wind picked up, howling as it smashed against the walls and rattled the windowpanes.

* * *

Khivar pressed his hands against the table and leaned forward, staring at the map with hungry eyes. Nicolas watched quietly as the Rebel Lord studied each and every aspect of the frayed map. It had been hard to come by, because few people were allowed access to the maps of the royal castle at Drendi. But they had a source hidden deep within the tangled webs of the palace, one that they hoped would not be forced into the open any time soon. 

"Is this up-to-date?" Khivar asked quietly.

"Yes," Nicolas answered. "Every passage way is marked, including those used only by the Royals. We have the entire plan." He smiled with grim satisfaction. It would be a coup d'état if they could enter the palace unannounced.

But there was a problem, one that they both saw. There may be many secret passages in and out of the castle, but there was only one way in and out of the city itself. For Khivar to attack, he would have to lead his troops through the main gates, which were always locked and well guarded.

And then the element of surprise would be lost.

Besides, he did not have enough supporters to wage war quiet yet. No, he would have to wait, to bide his time until his followers multiplied in number enough to win victory against the Royal Army.

But that still did not solve the problem of getting through the gates. Unless they were opened, he simply wouldn't have a chance. Which mean he needed to convince his source to open the gates and let him through, and he was not entirely sure he could do that. Traitor she may be, but would she so blatantly turn against her brother and betrothed?

"She loves you, my Lord. She will open the gates for us," Nicolas said, correctly reading the look on Khivar's face. He spoke with more confidence then he felt, because he too wondered whether the princess Vilandra would ever do such a thing.

And yet, she had brought them the map, hadn't she…?

"We do not have enough followers to attack yet," Khivar said finally. "We have time, time enough to convince Vilandra that helping us is the best course of action." He turned away from the map and walked over to the window, leaning against the glass and staring out at the hills around him. His rebels camped in the jungle, hidden among the twisted trees and overgrown ferns that covered the hills. They crept into villages at night, slipping from house to house as they recruited more and more people. Sometimes, when it was safe for Khivar to leave his hidden base, he himself would walk into the towns and speak in the markets, gathering people to him with his honey-coated words.

His army was building rapidly. Surdi was not the only province filled with his followers. His network stretched across all seven provinces, reaching as far as the snow covered hills of Northern Arifia and the tropical islands of Southern Farthe. People were eager to listen to him, to his promises. They were disillusioned by King Zan, by all the promises he had made that had never been fulfilled.

Zan was not a good king. It was not that he was selfish or that he lacked respect for his subjects. He was not a hard man, nor was he cruel or manipulative. He was merciful and just, and he showered respect on everyone, from the lowliest peasant to the greatest diplomat.

But he tried to do too much, and he tried to do it to quickly. Antar was primarily an agricultural planet, and much of its economy relied on the export of natural goods. As the other planets in the galaxy created industrialized and diversified economies that could create synthetic goods, technology, and scientific advancements, Antar's economy suffered. It simply could not keep up with the growth of other planets.

After all, Antar was still a monarchy. One of the few feudal planets left, it was plagued with severe poverty for the poor and incredible wealth for the wealthy. Much of the planet was also inhabited by different tribes with different cultures and different native languages. While the neighboring planets were mostly democracies, republics, or parliamentary states, they had lost a lot in order to develop their government. They had lost their native cultures, the indigenous inhabitants of the land fading away as big corporations took over and the government tried to equalize everything. For years, Antar had resisted that push, and it had managed to retain its uniqueness, but at the cost of its wealth.

And in the end, development could not be denied.

So Zan had tried to develop the planet, and to do it quickly. Factories were built, and synthetic goods were pushed into the market. Less government wealth was put into agricultural advancements, and the farmers slowly lost their wealth as their farms were confiscated by larger corporations that could use them more efficiently. Cheaper products flooded the shops, which helped the poor to buy better goods. But at the same time, people who relied on selling those same products for their livelihood found that they could not compete with the mass produced ones, and soon lost their jobs.

Education became mandatory for everyone, but they all learned the same education, without making allowances for each different culture. The public schools were government-run, and the old knowledge of the shamans and the ancient tribes was forgotten as new science took its place. Children learned how to speak the planetary language, but forgot how to speak their own family's language. They learned the history of the House of Zan and the Planet of Antar, but forgot their own heritage.

The planet was not ready for such a change, it could not keep up with the pace that the King had set for it. And the frustration and poverty bred anger and hatred, racism, and despair. And that lead people to cry for change, and Khivar gave them hope.

"If this is progress," Khivar whispered, "then give me regression." It was one of the lines he used most often in his speeches, and it became a slogan of sorts for his supporters. It started and ended every speech he gave.

_If this is progress, then give me regression. How have we been helped, my friends? Where is the money that the King promised us? Where is the wealth? Has it come to us at all? Are our lives better? Are we happier? Do we work less hours? Do we spend more time with our families? Has the planet become a better place? Are the oceans bluer or the forests greener? How have we been helped?_

_And what have we lost? We have lost ourselves! Who teaches their children the songs of old? How many children in this crowd can retell the myths of our forefathers or sing the songs of the angels from the beginning of creation? What education do they give us now? We learn how to slave away in factories and to toil beneath the sharp eye of a supervisor. And for what? To sell our products on the open market and earn a few coins at the end of the day. Not even enough to feed our families. Tell me, my friends, is everything we have gained worth what we have lost? We have sold our past, our present, and our future, and we have gained nothing in return. We have sold ourselves, our very identity. Was it worth it?_

_If this is progress, then give me regression._

And the crowd would go wild with cheers.

But what the people did not see, or, if they did see, what they chose to ignore, was that development was unavoidable. If Antar did not develop, and quickly, then the other planets would soon drive it into poverty far worse than what the poorest of the poor experienced now. It was a hard truth to swallow, but this was necessary. Antar had to become like the other planets, had to lose everything that had once made it special, or it would lose far more than just its culture.

The other planets had gone through the process as well, and they had lost their identity as they became strong and powerful. They may claim that their governments may have been controlled by the public, but in truth, they were controlled by the wealthy few who could afford it. And those wealthy few cared little for Antar and its survival. They would force Antar to join them as a developed planet, or they would bring the world to poverty and destruction and leave it in its ruin.

Zan tried to do too much, and tried to do it too quickly, but what other choice did he have?

* * *

When did destruction become a necessary part of advancement? 


	15. The Meaning of Life part one

Title: Providence

Disclaimer: I don't own anything

Author's note: I bring Sria into this chapter. For anyone who read my _Salvation Series (Checkmate, Crucible, Remembrance, Mythology, Redemption)_, she will be familiar. I'm not in any way implying that the universe I created for that story is the same as the one I created for this story. In other words, Rath does _not_ have a brother, Arya, Kani, Lotho and all those other people do _not_ exist, and Vilandra is _not_ purely evil. I just happened to really like Sria, and Ava needed a best friend, so she ended up in this story.

Also, this chapter turned out to be really long, so I'm posting it in two parts. The next part should be up by soon.

Italics are thoughts or flashbacks. Pay attention to whose POV it is.

And Lessa Du'vale is the Seeker's daughter (hopefully that will be clear in the story, but I'm saying it now just in case it isn't).

* * *

Chapter Fifteen: The Meaning of Life (part one)

What is the meaning of life?

Why are we here? What are we supposed to do with out eighty-some-years on the planet? Are we here by evolution or by intelligent design? Are we a random mistake that happened as molecules collided together, or a creation of some great Being? Do we have meaning, does our presence on this planet matter?

When does life begin? When does it end? Is abortion acceptable? Is euthanasia acceptable? What about capital punishment? Do we have the right to end a man's life based on who he was and what he did in the past? And war, is it justified? Is it justified to end the lives of hundreds of people in order to save the lives and freedoms of a different hundreds of people?

How much is a single life worth? How much are a thousand lives worth?

What is the meaning of life?

* * *

"_My Queen, may I introduce Lessa Du'vale, of the province of Da'ani?" Sria announced._

_Ava looked up from the parchment she was reading a bestowed a smile upon the young girl standing in front of her. "Lessa Du'vale?" she repeated. "I'm afraid I do not recognize the name." She eyed the girl's clothing. They were well made, but of coarse brown material, and her skin was tanned as though she had spent hours in the sun. Her arms were strong, and her main of thick hair was pulled back from her face in a messy bun. A peasant girl, obviously, but one of high enough standing to be able to afford decent clothes._

"_Her father is a farmer in Western Da'ani," Sria explained. The beautiful aristocrat tucked a few strands of hair behind one ear and gave a pretty smile. "She has come to the palace to work as a lady-in-waiting."_

_Ava raised a perfectly groomed eyebrow and asked, "A lady-in-waiting? For whom?" Usually the court attendants, that is, ladies-in-waiting, squires, and pages, were of a higher class. Peasants worked as servants, but never as court attendants._

_Ava eyed the girl skeptically. It was not that she thought of the peasants as being lower than anyone else, but being a court attendant meant knowing all of the rules of etiquette and class that came into play in the court. The palace was filled with intrigue, and a peasant who knew none of this would find herself trapped in a web of plots she had no control over. This Lessa was doomed if she began work here._

"_I believe she is to be one of your ladies-in-waiting," Sria replied with a slight smile as Ava turned to look at her in complete shock._

"_I don't remember requesting…"_

"_Her father is a tenant of Landholder Kree's," Sria interrupted. "It was Kree who sent her to us, who suggested that perhaps she would like a spot in the palace." There was something in Sria's tone that put Ava on guard, and she nodded slowly._

"_Kree? And how did he come to presume that I would like another lady-in-waiting?" Ava asked with a slight frown. "At my last count, I had three, which is the common number."_

"_It was suggested by her Majesty, the Princess Vilandra," Sria replied, her eyes narrowing slightly in some subtle meaning that Ava seemed to pick up on. "She pointed out that, because of the complexity of the next few months, given the preparations for her wedding to Rath, it would be helpful for you to have another lady-in-waiting."_

"_I see…" Ava mused thoughtfully._

_Lessa looked between the two women before her. She could not believe that she was standing in the presence of the Queen of Antar. She could not believe that she was to be this woman's lady-in-waiting. She could not believe any of it._

_But she was sharp-minded, and she could also tell that there was something else going on, something that involved her, but that was being played out at a level just above her head. She did not know what it was, but she knew, for good or ill, it was going to affect her._

* * *

Kyle POV 

"Did you talk to Max?"

Tess shook her head and grabbed the piece of toast from the toaster oven. "No, I didn't. He stayed in the back room with Isabel for most of the meeting, and left as soon as she did."

_So basically he's avoiding having to admit to being a jerk to you._ "You're going to have to talk to him eventually," Kyle pointed out reasonably as he poured himself some orange juice.

Tess slanted him a look and asked suspiciously, "Why are you so interested anyway?"

Kyle sighed and put his coffee down on the table next to the orange juice. _Because I want to be able to rub it in his face that he was wrong. Obviously._ "I just think he should apologize for blowing you off. Your suspicions about that man were well founded, and his complete disregard for that almost got you killed."

Tess gave a wry grin and replied, "Oh, don't worry, brother dear, I have every intention of making him regret that later on." She hesitated, then shook her head. "The thing is, I'm not sure now is a good time to bring it up. We have to focus on Khivar and this stranger, not fight each other."

"Are you afraid?" Kyle demanded.

"No!" Tess retorted, flushed with embarrassment at the question. "Of course not," she continued emphatically. "But as a Queen, sometimes you have to put everyone else's welfare above your own."

"So now you're throwing the whole royalty thing in my face," Kyle laughed, and Tess offered him a soft grin. _Please don't be mad at me for suggesting that you were afraid. Please don't be mad at me._

"I guess I am," she conceded.

"I wonder how Isabel is doing," Kyle commented, changing the subject. Although he knew that Tess had a point, he also didn't like to see her set aside her own emotions in favor of helping everyone else. Still, she had been adamant, and if he wasn't going to change her mind, then there was no point pressing the subject.

"Probably not well," Tess replied honestly. "She'll be blaming herself for what happened."

"Well… she is to blame, isn't she?" Kyle pointed out, somewhat hesitantly. He wasn't sure whether or not Tess would be receptive to that opinion. While things between the hybrid Princess and hybrid Queen had become positively glacial over the past several days, Tess sometimes still jumped to defend the others, as though it was instinct. _It's so stupid, she should let go of that need to defend them. They don't deserve it, not from her._

Tess gave Kyle a hard look, then shrugged. "I guess it depends on how you look at it." She took a bite of the toast and chewed for a moment, then said, "After all, Alex wasn't just Isabel's boyfriend. He was our friend as well. How come we didn't notice anything?"

"More like how come Liz and Maria didn't notice anything?" Kyle interjected. _They're his friends, his best friends, why isn't anyone asking how come they didn't notice?_

That caused Tess to frown. "Actually, Liz did notice something." She ran a hand through her hair, then said, "Right now assigning blame is not going to help us solve the problem," and effectively ended that discussion.

Kyle acquiesced with a nod and asked, "So what are you going to do?"

Tess considered the question for a moment, then said, "Michael mentioned that he knew where my attacker was staying. I guess I'll do some investigating."

"By yourself? That man almost killed you!" Kyle protested. _Don't do something that stupid. You're supposed to be smarter than that._

"Maybe Michael will come with me," Tess replied. Michael was the only one of the group, besides Kyle, who she was still getting along with well enough to feel comfortable asking for this favor. At the very least, she knew Michael would hear her out before completely disregarding the idea.

And she felt the overwhelming desire to do _something_. Who knew how much time they would have before one of their enemies attacked again?

"I don't like it," Kyle objected. "I mean, we don't even know why this man is after you." _Do you want to get yourself killed? Stupid, stupid, stupid…_

Tess nodded slowly. "No, we don't," she agreed at last. "But maybe my investigating will yield some clues." She stood up decisively. "If we are to have any chance of defeating this man, we are going to have to figure out why he is after me."

And she turned and walked from the room.

Kyle watched her go for a moment, then reached for the phone to call his father. Someone needed to go with Tess to make sure she was safe. Regardless of whether or not Michael agreed to help her, he would feel better knowing that someone who actually cared about her was there to make sure she didn't get hurt.

As he dialed his father's cell phone number, he heard the front door slam, and saw Tess walk towards the car. He would tell his Dad to meet up with her at Michael's apartment.

She wouldn't like it, but he was not about to lose the girl he considered his sister.

* * *

Maria's POV 

_Michael doesn't love me._

She tried to push the treacherous thought away, but it clung to her mind, refusing to let go. She walked over to her bed and sank into it, burying her head in her hands, and wishing she could think of anything besides what had happened last night.

Liz wasn't speaking to her. After their argument, the brunette had returned to the meeting, and refused to even meet Maria's gaze. Perhaps she had been too harsh when she jumped to the conclusion that Liz had chosen Isabel over Alex, but couldn't Liz understand that that was exactly what it seemed like? Alex was in danger and Liz wanted to… wait.

Just wait.

Wait for what? Alex to be in more pain? Khivar to attack again? What were they waiting for?

Michael also wasn't speaking to her, but she wasn't speaking to him as well, so that was not as much of a loss. He hadn't seemed to care about Alex at all, only Isabel. Anything to keep Isabel safe, anything to protect her. What about Alex? What about Maria?

_What about the rest of us? Since when did Isabel become the only thing in the world that mattered to him?_

But she knew the answer to that. It had been slowly coming, the way he looked at her, the way he sounded when he spoke Isabel's name…

But then he would look at Maria…

_He would look at me with _that_ look, and it was like Isabel didn't matter. That's why I didn't see it, that's why I never noticed… He loves me as well… just not… not like he loves her._

She shook her head and stood up abruptly. If she was smart, she would end things with Michael now, before everything went downhill. She would walk up to him and tell him he was a jerk, and break up with him. She would get to be the one who walks away, not him. She would get to be the one who moves on, while he was left stuck wallowing in the ruins of his own inability to be honest with any girl in his life.

But she couldn't. She couldn't break up with him, because…

_What if Isabel doesn't love him? She loves Alex, right? She's not going to go with Michael, and I know that he still loves me. So maybe… maybe we can work things out._

But that thought brought up more thoughts about Alex, and how stupid she had been. How could she have not known? How could she have no idea what was going on? How could she just…just not know?

Near the end of the meeting, Liz had mentioned that she and Tess had noticed something was wrong with Alex a while ago. They had noticed, but Maria hadn't. The realization that she had failed her best friend by not even noticing that he was being possessed left her feeling guilty.

And she knew in part why that was. She had spent too much time, too much energy, on her relationship with Michael. The further away from her he drifted, the more distant he became, the more effort she put into keeping him with her. And it was taking its toll on her friendships.

She needed to let go of Michael.

But she just… she couldn't.

She was in love, and it was making her miserable.

* * *

Max POV 

Max stared out of the window of his bedroom, his eyes darkened with frustration and fury. Isabel had locked herself in her room and refused to be roused from her self-imposed isolation. Tess had only spared him the briefest glance at the meeting the night before, and Maria had left before he and Isabel had emerged from the back room. Michael had left after that, leaving only Liz and Max alone in the diner.

Liz had been quiet and distant with him, and he knew part of it was that she was worried about Alex. But something else had changed with her, or perhaps something had changed with him. Either way, part of that connection that he once felt so intensely was gone.

_I wonder what I will feel when I see Tess again?_

Because he knew that the loss of the connection could only be attributed to his change in attitude, his acceptance of Zan and his kingship.

And that was why he was left frustrated and infuriated as he stared at the early morning sky. He was frustrated because he didn't know what to do, he didn't know how to be king. He could feel this change inside of him, this… this _something_ demanding that he start acting like a king. But he didn't know how to be a king, and that infuriated him.

_How do I do this? How do I lead? How do I make decisions? How?_

The idea of fighting made him sick. His stomach twisted into knots, not from fear, but from revulsion. He didn't think he would ever be able to bring himself to kill.

He remembered Michael and Pierce, and how distraught the hybrid General had been after what had happened. He knew that Michael had only done what he had to do. He knew that, had he been in the same position, he would have done the same thing.

But the thought still made him sick.

He did it once, he knew. At some point, in some other world, when he was someone else, he commanded armies, and sent people to their deaths, and killed enemies.

_But I'm not Zan. I'm not a leader. I'm not a king. I'm Max Evans, and I have no idea what I'm supposed to be doing now._

He would have to do it again, and soon, because Khivar was back.

But he had no idea how to be this person, this king.

And then the realization came to him, abrupt and filled with blinding power, he may not be Zan, but he _was_ still the King.

* * *

Michael POV 

_I'm screwed._

It was the first thought that entered his mind as he stared at Alex's gloating expression and wondered what the hell he was supposed to do now.

He didn't want to get Alex, Maria, or Liz hurt. But he couldn't take Khivar to the Granolith chamber. He just _couldn't_.

He would have no shot at physically overtaking Khivar, he knew that much. The skin king was much more adept with his powers, and more than that, Khivar had no worries about hurting Michael, whereas Michael still had to think about Alex's safety and health.

But perhaps he could stall Khivar. He didn't really have much of a choice.

He closed his eyes for a moment.

_Max, Isabel, Tess… someone…anyone… help me._

* * *

"_Do you trust Vilandra?" Ava demanded in a hushed tone as she stared at Sria from her bed. Sria was leaning against the far wall of the Queen's bedroom. She and Ava had been confidants since as far back as either could remember, and it was therefore nothing new that Ava would be asking for Sria's opinion._

_But it was the first time that she had asked anything as important as this._

_Sria knew that Ava was skeptical of Vilandra's true loyalties. Sria herself was skeptical as well. And this whole business with Lessa Du'vale added intrigue to the tangled mess of the Royal Four's lives. _

_But this suspicion had always been conveyed in looks and glances, hidden gestures, and meaning pushed between words. It had never been said quite so bluntly._

_Still, Ava had asked for her honest opinion, and Sria knew she had no choice but to give it. She could not lie to the Queen of Antar, but even more than that, she could not lie to her best friend._

_So she looked Ava straight in the eye and said simply, "No."_


	16. The Meaning of Life part two

Title: Providence

Disclaimer: I don't own anything

Author's note: So I have a question for everyone. I had originally introduced Matt as a way of getting Tess out of the whole pining-over-Max thing that she was in at the end of Season Two. Now I don't know what to do with him. He has to stay around a little bit because there are some more scenes with him and Tess that I have planned, but since this will eventually be Max/Tess (once Max stops being a jerk), I need to get rid of him at some point. I don't want to kill him, I don't want him to know about aliens, and I don't want to break his heart any more than I have to. So what do I do with him?

* * *

Chapter Sixteen: The Meaning of Life (part two)

"_Lessa? It is Lessa, isn't it?"_

_Lessa turned and glanced at the radiant woman who approached her. She bowed her head quickly and said in a subdued tone, "Yes, my Lady. How may I be of service?"_

_Vilandra eyed the other girl for a moment, then said, "May I take you into my confidence? I need your advice." She knew that Lessa had no knowledge of the court, and would not realize how dangerous it was to harbor a secret of the Royal Family. As she expected, Lessa agreed readily._

"_Of course, my Lady."_

_Vilandra gave a brilliant smile and took Lessa by the arm. "Now, you must not tell anyone," she whispered conspiratorially. _

_Lessa nodded, leaning towards the Princess eagerly. "Of course not. The words will never leave my lips." _

"_Good," Vilandra said. "It is about the Queen."_

* * *

Tess was halfway to Michael's house when she heard it. Soft, gentle… and yet persistent and urgent… 

…_help me…_

It was Michael. Something was wrong.

She pushed down harder on the gas pedal.

* * *

"So you're the human that the king fell in love with? You're the human that ruined everything for them?" 

Liz spun around at the sound of the harsh voice and found herself staring at the strange man who had attacked the night before. He breath caught in her throat as one hand closed over tightly over the salt shaker on the table next to her, as though somehow it could be used as a weapon against this sudden threat. She glanced around the diner in a panic, but it was early in the morning, too early for anyone else to be there. The diner itself didn't open for another half hour, and neither of her parents were awake.

"Who are you?" Liz asked, her palm sweating against the clear glass of the shaker. A salt shaker was not much of a weapon, but she didn't really have much of a choice.

"Nobody of consequence," the Seeker replied coldly, taking a step closer to the terrified human girl.

"If you are trying to kill my friends you are certainly of consequence to me," Liz replied defiantly, trying her best to maintain a calm and brave façade.

"Not all of your friends," the Seeker replied icily. "Just the Queen." He spat out the word bitterly.

"Tess?" Liz asked in confusion. "Why?" While Tess certainly wasn't her favorite person at the moment, she could not deny that she did feel the need to protect the petite hybrid. She was, after all, part of the group. And she had done Liz the favor of listening and investigating her concerns about Alex, so perhaps there would be a chance that later on they could be friends.

A very small chance, but a chance nonetheless.

The Seeker gave a dry laugh and shook his head. "Loss makes you do stupid things," he replied cryptically. He was silent for a moment, then said, "But if you really must call me something, you may call me the Seeker."

He said the words with importance, as though they were supposed to mean something to Liz, but they didn't. She stared at him blankly, then looked around, still frantically trying to find a way to escape.

The Seeker sighed. "Ask your precious King, perhaps he can explain to you what a Seeker is."

"I doubt it," Liz replied without really thinking. "He doesn't remember much of that life." She lapsed into silence again, musing on the fact that she was able to remain so calm while a dangerous enemy carried on what seemed like a rather pleasant conversation with her.

At the very least, he hadn't tried to kill her yet.

That was something, wasn't it?

"So, um, what do you want?" Liz asked at last, hesitantly, still unsure what to think about this strange man. He was obviously a threat, but he didn't seem to actually want to hurt her.

Strange.

"Your help," the Seeker replied quietly.

Liz laughed. She couldn't help it, the laughter came suddenly, and soon she was gasping for breath as tears of mirth spilled down her cheeks. "You want _my_ help?" she repeated, wondering vaguely if she had heard right. "I'm _not_ going to help you kill Tess." It was absurd of him to even ask.

"Yes you will," the Seeker said simply, confidently.

Liz stared at him incredulously, then said, "No… no, I _definitely_ won't."

"Do you think she would do the same for you?" the Seeker asked coldly. "She doesn't care about you. Ava never cared about anyone besides herself. You're a pawn in her game, and it will only serve to get you killed."

He spoke with such bitterness that Liz knew he was not speaking to her, but rather he was remembering someone from the past. Her intuition kicking in, she asked gently, "Who did Ava kill? Who did you lose to her?" Hopefully the man would tell her something, something she could pass along to Tess and the others. Something that would help them survive this battle.

The Seeker hesitated, as though unsure if he could confide in Liz. After a moment of silent debate, he said, "My daughter. Lessa." He looked away, the pain reflected brightly in his eyes. Even his words were filled with unspeakable loss, and Liz could not help but flinch at the sound of his broken voice.

She did not know what it was like to lose a child, but she knew it had to be one of the most horrific experience anyone could go through.

"She didn't want a part of that life. She had no desire to be a courtier. But somehow she was drawn into the spiderweb of lies, and it took her life from her." The Seeker was speaking more to himself than to Liz, but she listened to his words nonetheless.

"She learned something about the Queen," the Seeker continued, a far away look in his eyes. "Some secret that the Queen did not want her to know. So she… she _killed_ her. My Lessa would never have revealed the secret to anyone, but the Queen wanted to be absolutely certain…"

Liz felt sympathy, and wondered how Ava could have ever done anything so cruel to this poor man.

And then she realized what she was thinking and snapped out of the treacherous thoughts. "I am sorry for your loss," she said honestly, "but your quarrel is with Ava, not Tess. Tess did not kill your daughter, and I won't help you kill her."

The Seeker shook his head in frustration, the human's words bringing him back to the present. "It is not enough," he spat with fury. "I knew you would not understand why she must pay. You are too human to realize that blame does not disappear with death. She is still the woman responsible for my daughter's death, no matter the name she goes by now."

"I won't help you," Liz said strongly.

The Seeker smiled a wholly untrustworthy smile and replied. "Oh, but you will." He took a few steps to the nearby table and flung himself unceremoniously into a chair. "You will, and in return, I will help you free your human friend from the possession he is currently trapped in."

"Alex?" Liz breathed. She hesitated, torn, then replied, "We are already working on a way to free him. We don't need your help."

"Don't be a fool," the Seeker replied derisively. "You don't even know how Khivar is sustaining the possession. Any attempt you make to defeat the skin king may well backfire and harm your friend."

"We've taken this into consideration," Liz replied noncommittally.

The Seeker shrugged. "Alright," he said at last. "Have it your way. But if you should change your mind… well, I'll be around."

And then he stood and was gone, slipping through the diner doors and out into the sunlit street. Liz watched him go in apprehension and indecision.

* * *

Tess shoved the door open and acted without thinking. She raised a hand and slammed Alex through the air and onto the ground, where he lay, momentarily winded. As soon as she had entered the room, Michael mad moved towards her. She turned to him, her eyes wide with unspoken questions, but did not have time to say anything before she felt a burst of energy hit her in the back and she stumbled to her knees. 

The world faded in and out of her vision, and she was dimly aware of Michael attacking Alex. Realizing that the hybrid general could easily lose control of his powers and harm the human body that Khivar currently resided in, she struggled to her feet and attempted to put herself in between Alex and Michael.

Michael was pale, sweating. Alex's eyes gleamed with savage rage as he conjured another burst of energy into the palm of his head, and for that moment, as she stared at him, Tess couldn't understand how any of them could have thought that he was really Alex. He was so foreign, so alien…

So _cruel_.

She shoved Michael to the floor and dodged aside herself, then focused all her mental strength on Alex. The pain was blinding, causing her breath to come in uneven gasps as she fought to gain control of his mind.

The power was twisting inside of her as it had when she had attacked the skins, when she had conjured the giant fireball that killed them all. She struggled to hold on to it, to maintain some type of grasp on her gifts. She didn't want to lose control, but the more she struggled, the more it twisted away from her.

She could see the room swimming through her hazy vision. Michael was still on the ground. He had climbed to his hands and knees, his eyes fixed on her as he watched the silent battle of wills. Alex was leaning against the back of the sofa, his fingers biting into the cushions as he attempted to stay standing. His eyes were closed, but his skin was glowing eerily.

The air between them shimmered with power.

It was almost as though she could feel Alex, the real Alex. He was trapped beneath a smooth surface, like polished glass, and every time she reached out to him, he slipped further away and she was left clutching thin air.

For every step she made towards freeing him, the Khivar-presence in his mind pushed her back. The Alex of her vision was crying, tears slipping down his face as he turned towards her. The battle being raged in his mind was taking its toll on his psyche, and his skin grew more and more pale, his eyes fading into opaque orbs of cloudy nothingness in his watery face.

Everything was spinning around him in a great tornado of power, and she was continually forced away.

But she could tell that Khivar was failing against her continued attack. For all the energy she was loosing, he was fading as well. His ability to hold onto the possession was seriously compromised by her presence in Alex's mind. Every few moments, she would push closer to the glass prison, closer to Alex.

And then she felt the heat of something spreading across her back. She breathed in the scent of blood, and remembered too late the wound she had sustained from Khivar-Alex's first attack on her only moments before the mental battle had begun. The blood stuck to her clothes as it slowly stained her skin a deep red.

She slipped to the floor, and was dimly aware of Michael at her side. She heard footsteps, jagged and unsteady, move towards her, and then the door opened and shut behind her, and she knew that Alex had left the apartment.

She slid into unconsciousness, no longer able to summon the strength to stay awake.

Michael grabbed the phone from the coffee table and ran back to her side, quickly dialing Max's number. Had she not come when she did, he was sure he would have been forced to chose between Alex's life, and the Granolith, and he honestly didn't know what he would chose. But she had come, and she had stopped Khivar, and from what he had seen of Alex's tired form when he left the room, the skin king would need some time to recuperate before attacking again.

She had most likely saved their lives.

He only hoped he would be in time to save hers.

* * *

"_Lessa, what is it?" the Seeker asked as he reached his hand out towards his daughter. It was one of the rare days when he had been able to escape the confines of his agriculturally bound life, and he had used the freedom to travel to the royal city and visit his daughter._

_They met on the steps near the gates to the city, and she had run to him, flinging her arms around him and clinging tightly to his shoulders. Her actions had startled him, and he had quickly inquired as to what was wrong._

"_Oh, Father. I've learned something I did not want to know," Lessa replied in a hushed voice. "And now I do not know what to do."_

"_Is it serious, what you have learned?" the Seeker asked curiously. Intrigue was common enough among the nobility, and Lessa had been prepared for that before she went to the palace. What could she have learned that would be so horrible?_

"_Yes, it is," Lessa replied emphatically. She glanced around worriedly, then said, "It is about the Queen."_

_The Seeker frowned. "You are her lady-in-waiting. Your loyalty is to her alone. You must keep the secret."_

_Lessa considered this for a moment, then nodded. "You are right, Father," she said decisively, although something in her expression made him wonder what it was she had learned. But before he could ask her, she turned away and looked out over the city. "Come," she said excitedly, "I want to show you the city."_

_When he left her, a few hours later, he did not know that it was the last time he would see her alive._

* * *

I don't know the meaning of life. I don't think anyone really does. 

Life is a statistic.

One in eight American women will be diagnosed with breast cancer at some point in their lives. One in five of those women won't live five years past the diagnosis.

Life is numbers.

I don't know its meaning.

But I've seen loss. I've felt loss. I've been through loss.

When that one person who dies is someone you love, your mother, your sister, your daughter, it doesn't matter that the other four people did live more than five years past the diagnosis. It doesn't matter that the other seven people never got diagnosed with breast cancer in the first place.

I don't know the meaning of life, but I know the meaning of loss.

Maybe she isn't _your _mother, sister, daughter. But she matters to _someone_, and somewhere in the world a person is crying over the loss of one of the few people who mattered more than life itself.

* * *

Author's note: In response to a review from a previous chapter, I felt the need to point at that at no point on the show are we ever given reason to believe that Ava came from royalty. She married into the Royal Four, but that is all we know about her. We also know (from Season Three), that when Zan dies, it is Rath who becomes the King, and not Ava or Vilandra. From this I assumed that neither Ava nor Vilandra had any political power outside their relationship with Zan. Certainly they could act as advisors, and they held sway among the court, but that did not mean that they had any influence in the laws of the land, or the ability to overrule any decision made by Zan or Rath. 


	17. Dying Starlight

Title: Providence

Disclaimer: I don't own anything

Author's note: Yeah, I don't really have anything to say here. Oh, except that the italics when Max is healing Tess are flashes.

* * *

Chapter Seventeen: Dying Starlight

Somewhere, up in that inky night sky, a star dies. It fizzles away into nothing or it explodes in fire and heat. Maybe it creates a black hole, a reminder that yes, it did used to live here, thank you very much, and please don't forget that. Then again, maybe it doesn't create a black hole. Maybe it doesn't care if we remember or not. Maybe it figures that it's dead now, and who cares what anyone on Earth thinks anyway?

Somewhere up in that inky night sky, a star dies. And we have absolutely no idea.

Light travels quickly.

299,792,458 meters per second to be exact.

Yes, light travels quickly. But not instantaneously. Not when you're talking about distances as big as the ever-expanding vastness of space.

For an average star, the light still takes seven or eight years to reach us. Which means that, if a star dies, it still takes us seven or eight years to realize that because it takes seven or eight years for the light from that star to fade away.

If I've confused you, stop. Reread. Think. If it still doesn't make sense, consider yourself lucky that you don't have to study physics.

* * *

_Lessa pushed the door to her bedroom open and stepped inside. She closed it firmly behind her and carefully unbuttoned the front of her heavy cloak. It was made of a thick material like wool, but of a finer quality. She was not used to such things, to the wealth and finery that surrounded her._

_She had been happy to see her father earlier that afternoon, but the secret the Lady Vilandra had shared still weighed heavily on her mind. How could the Queen do something like this?_

_She was only a Lady-in-Waiting, and Ava did not deign to discuss secrets, hopes, or dreams in her presence, but still… Lessa had liked the Queen, liked her passionate manner, her dry wit, and her bright smile. She had a temper, that was true, and it would flare up unexpectedly and for no particularly good reason, but everyone had flaws. After all, Ava was the Queen, but she was still just an Antarian like everybody else. She wasn't perfect._

_But this…?_

_Lessa never thought the Queen would stoop so low_

_She sank onto the bed, listening to the silence all around her and contemplating the her choices._

* * *

Max reached out his hands, extending them over Tess' unconscious body. Behind him, Michael shifted back and forth, watching and waiting, apprehension on his face. Isabel was perched on the edge of the sofa, her gaze trained solely on Tess' pale face.

Max felt the power well up within him, and he focused all his strength on channeling his healing ability towards his hands.

_Her fingers clawed at the mucous membrane as the liquid contents of her pods shifted under her frantic movements. The darkness was closing in on her, the heavy fluid choking her, preventing the oxygen from reaching her lungs. She stumbled, tumbling out of the pod and crumbling to the hard stone floor of the dimly lit cave._

_She was alone._

_A shadow moved, blocking out the sun, and she turned towards the entrance of the cave. A man appeared, and she shoved herself to her feet, shivering with dread as she looked into his cold eyes._

The wound on her back was slowly healing, but her breathing was still labored and uneven. She was gasping for precious oxygen as her body unconsciously fought away the death that was fighting to overtake her.

Max bit his lip and tried to focus harder, but something was surrounding her essence, wrapping her in a shroud of black. He realized, suddenly, what that blackness was.

She was dying.

_Michael wrapped his arms around his chest as he stared at the place where the hologram of Max and Isabel's mother had just been. "I always knew there was something out there," he said, his voice tinged with awe, "but I had no idea how important it was."_

_I did, Tess thought to herself. She hadn't known exactly what it was that was out there, but she had always known it was important. Because she had been willing to open her eye sand see what was right in front of them._

_Unfortunately she appeared to be the only alien willing to do that._

"_Things will never the same," Max commented, and Tess fought the urge to roll her eyes at the obviousness of that statement. "But whatever happens, we have to stay together. It's the four of us now."_

_Funny, because the past several weeks Tess had been forced to listen to the others tell her that she wasn't part of the group. How quickly ideas change._

"_I knew this was meant to be," Tess murmured, more to herself than to anyone else. She turned towards Max, reaching up to touch his face with her hand._

"_No," Max said firmly, stepping away from. He turned to Liz, who was watching the entire exchange with pain-filled eyes. "Look, everything I told you before is still true."_

"_Max you have a destiny," Liz pointed out. "You just heard it. I can't stand in the way of it."_

"_But you mean everything to me," Max protested._

_And Tess felt her heart break._

Tess' pale face slowly regained some of its color as Max fought against the forces trying to take her life. Bit by bit, he managed to move closer towards her, managed to keep the death at bay. His strength was slowly running out, but he refused to give up until she was healed.

Isabel, sensing that Max was loosing energy, stood suddenly and stepped over to her brother. She knelt down next to him, placing a hand on his shoulder and willing her own energy into him. He felt the surge of power and gave her a grateful smile before turning his mind back to the task at hand.

_Kyle frowned as he rummaged around for food in the refrigerator. Tess appeared in the doorway behind him, staring at him with an unreadable expression on her face. For a moment, she was silent, then she said slightly hesitantly, "There's meatloaf in the bottom drawer."_

"_I found it," Kyle replied, not even looking up at her. His eyes were darkened with anger, the confrontation with Max still eating away at his composure._

_Tess nodded and swallowed, then looked away. She seemed to be having an internal argument, and at one point even turned to walk away. But then she abruptly swung back to look at Kyle and said quietly, "My stuff's packed. I'll be gone after school."_

_That caught Kyle's attention, and he turned and looked at her in confusion. "What?"_

"_Last night, when you said that we'd moved in and taken over your life… I realized you were talking about me. I'm sorry I overstayed my welcome." She had trouble forcing the words out, but she managed to keep her composure and just gave him a slightly bittersweet smile._

"_Tess, don't leave," Kyle said quickly._

_Tess shook her head slowly. "It's okay, you know?" she murmured gently. "You have the right to protect your family." They had invaded his life and forced their own problems onto him, and she knew that he didn't have to protect them. She knew that they weren't family, not really, and that his real family, his father, had to come first. And after everything Jim had been through because of the aliens, she couldn't blame him. She understood his anger, she really did. It just didn't make it any easier to accept._

_Kyle's eyes widened at her words. "You're part of the family I'm trying to protect," he protested, and Tess started, staring up at him with surprise. No one had ever called her family before, not even the other aliens. "As far as I can see," Kyle continued, unaware of Tess' own emotions, "you're the only good thing about having an alien in my life."_

_Tess felt the burning grow behind her eyes, and tried to her best to keep the tears at bay. "Kyle?" she whispered._

"_What?"_

"_You're definitely my favorite human." She flashed his a brilliant smile and he gave her a grin._

"_Yeah, well… you're my favorite Martian." _

They were almost done when Michael too stood next to Max. He reached out and pressed his hand on top of Max's hands, his fingers almost touching the blood on Tess' shirt. As the energy spilled from his own palm and cascaded into Max's hands, something yanked at his stomach, pulling him in different directions all at once.

Max and Isabel experienced the same phenomenon as their power linked with Tess'. For a moment, the four were united in a rush of brilliant light.

"_My Lord Zan, may I present the Lady Ava?"_

"_Come on, Rath, you can tell me. Do you like Lonnie or not?"_

"_I, Zan of Antar, promise to love and cherish you, Lady Ava, for all eternity and beyond."_

"_My Lady Vilandra, may I have the honor of this dance?"_

"_I now crown you King Zan of Antar!"_

"_Be careful, my son, for you have many enemies."_

"_Rath… I… I love you."_

"_I don't trust Khivar. He's charismatic, amoral, and ambitious. That is not a good combination."_

"_We're under attack!"_

"_Rath, Khivar's breached the city gates!"_

"_Lonnie's _helping_ him?"_

"_Ava! AVA! No, no, NO! No, please… oh God, no…"_

Tess blinked as the light fell away and took a few deep breaths, pushing herself into a sitting position and staring around Michael's apartment in confusion. Isabel fell back against the wall, and Michael reached out towards her, wrapping an arm around her shoulders. She smiled up at him for a moment, then turned her gaze to Max, who was still staring at Tess.

Max reached out hesitantly, his fingers brushing against Tess' skin. The flashes of his past life replayed through his head as he stared into the sapphire eyes in front of him. They weren't complete memories, and they were fading now, so quickly that he could barely remember what he had seen. But for the briefest moment he had felt that great love that he knew Zan once possessed for Ava. For that moment, he had understood what it meant to truly be soul mates.

"I remembered…" Max murmured to himself. "I remembered you."

Tess shoved his hand away and stood up slowly, and the moment was gone. Max shook his head as the feelings slowly died away and memories of Liz resurfaced. His hesitated, torn, and continued to stare up at the standing hybrid Queen.

Tess shook her head. Something about the look in Max's eyes, something she saw there unnerved her and made her inexplicably livid. How dare he look at her like that, like he loved her? Just because he had a few more memories of Ava? How long would that last? How long before those memories meant nothing and he recalled his love for Liz?

Tess reminded herself that she was with Matt. She liked Matt. He was nice and sweet and kind and he wasn't going to rip her heart out and trample on it while proclaiming love for another girl.

But it was so damn hard to remember Matt when Max was looking at her like _that_.

A sudden knock on the door caused Michael to tense, and he stepped away from Isabel and quickly took a defensive position. Max stood as well, and stepped in front of Isabel in an unconscious effort to protect her from the person at the door, should that person be an enemy. Tess' eyes flickered once to the door, then over to Michael, then back to the door.

"Come in," Michael called, and the door swung open.

Jim Valenti walked into the room. He took one look at the aggressive postures of the four aliens and asked quickly, "What happened?"

"Just random attacks by evil aliens," Michael grumbled under his breath.

"Is everything alright?" Max asked, shooting Michael and annoyed look. He turned back to Valenti in concern. It was unlike the ex-Sheriff to just show up at Michael's apartment unless something had happened.

Tess seemed to be thinking along the same lines because she asked quickly, "Is Kyle alright?"

"Yes, he's fine," Jim replied, glancing over at Tess. "He actually just called and said you were thinking about investigating this stranger's hotel room… the one that apparently wants to kill you."

"Yeah…" Tess murmured, suddenly uncomfortable as Michael, Isabel, and Max all turned to look at her. She really didn't want to be having this discussion in front of Max, partially because she was sure he would be against it. As usual, his brilliant idea would be to sit and wait and see what happened. but it was her life on the line, and she wasn't going to passively watch everything get worse.

"Why did you come over here?" Michael asked curiously. He was grateful that she had, of course, but he didn't understand what had made her appear at exactly the right moment.

"I was going to… ask you if you wanted to help me," Tess explained. Max's eyes narrowed dangerously and Isabel raised an eyebrow. Inwardly, Tess began thinking up a list of suitable punishments for Kyle's interference. "Then," she continued, "I heard… or, at least, I thought I heard you calling for help. Mentally, I mean."

"So you ran blindly to his apartment to attack Khivar? You could have been killed!" Max protested, annoyed and suddenly panicked about the idea of Tess dying.

"Michael was in trouble," Tess replied, defending herself with a shrug.

"She's right," Michael cut in. Isabel opened her mouth to argue, but Michael cut her off. "Khivar said I wouldn't be able to hurt him without hurting Alex. And I… he threatened to kill Alex, Maria, and Liz, if I didn't take him to the pod chamber."

"He what…?" Max hissed, his face flushing with anger. "He threatened Liz?"

Tess bit her lip and averted her eyes, Max's words like small daggers to her heart. If Michael or Isabel noticed anything, they gave no indication of it. Only Jim caught the painful expression that flashed momentarily through Tess' eyes.

But he said nothing.

"The Granolith is in the pod chamber," Isabel murmured. "If we take him there…"

"I know," Michael replied grimly. "But I couldn't let him kill Alex, Liz, or Maria."

Isabel gave him an indescribable look and replied, "No, you couldn't. We can't just let them die. We have to protect them." There was something off about her voice, her tone. It was flat and slightly bitter, and Michael had no idea why.

But Max did. Max remembered his previous conversation with Isabel, remembered her Freudian outburst that she was in love with Rath, and knew that the sound of Maria's name on Michael's lips was painful for his sister to hear.

But he also knew that Isabel would never even dream of sacrificing Alex, Maria, and Liz's safety for her own. None of them would.

Which meant that they had a problem.

"We need a plan, Maxwell," Michael commented. "Tess can't kick Khivar out of Alex's mind. It almost killed her."

"What?" Valenti cut in, surprised. He turned to Tess. "What does he mean? You almost died?"

"I'm fine," Tess replied, waving her hand dismissively although inside she was ecstatic that Jim cared enough about her to be so worried. She turned to Max, and said, "But Michael is right. Quite apart from the threat to my life, it is also a threat to Alex's. Attacking Khivar from within Alex's mind meant that Khivar and I were basically fighting a war in Alex's brain. It was hurting him, and I don't know if I can kick Khivar out without doing any damage to Alex… it might kill him."

"Let's call a meeting," Max said authoritatively. "Let everyone in the group know what is going on." He turned dark eyes towards Tess. "And I don't think now is a good time to go investigating this stranger either."

Tess rolled her eyes. "Well, he's trying to kill me, so I don't like the idea of doing nothing."

"We won't let anything happen to you," Michael said suddenly, reaching out and placing a hand on Tess' shoulder. "We're going to protect you from him."

Tess looked up at Michael, confused about his sudden change in demeanor. He was almost… protective. His words and the expression on her face somehow made her feel suddenly safe.

Isabel watched the exchange through narrowed eyes. Then she turned around and walked out of the apartment.

Michael frowned and said to no one in particular, "I'm going to go make sure Isabel is okay." And he too left, leaving Max, Tess, and Jim standing alone in his apartment.

Max turned back to Tess and was hit with a sudden rush of emotion. "Tess… we should talk about what we saw in those flashes."

Tess opened her mouth to respond when her cell phone buzzed, indicating that she had received a text message. She turned and grabbed her purse, which was resting where she had dropped it by the door, and fished her phone out. She flipped to her mailbox and opened the message.

_You want to get lunch at the Crashdown now? Even if it is only 10:30 am. –Matt_

Tess looked up at Max's soulful eyes. He was staring at her, giving her _that_ look, and every part of her that remembered her life as Ava was screaming at her to stay and talk to him. After all, he remembered her, and she had long since given up on that.

This was it. This was her chance to show him that he really did love her. This was her chance to talk to him, to make him see the truth, to make him understand who he really was. This was her chance to fix her screwed up life. This was her chance to get everything she had ever dreamed of finding.

But then she thought of Matt.

_Did you have a run in with some monsters in your childhood?_

_One of them attacked me when I was seven._

_What did it look like? _

_It was a giant bug. It was several feet long, and had these great bit pinchers attacked to its forehead._

_Oh, how horrible! How did you fight it off?_

_Bug spray. Lots and lots of bug spray._

_What? You're staring at me. _

_You have the most amazing smile._

She looked back at Max. "Sorry, I can't. I've got a date."

* * *

Liz stared at the picture in her hand. She was standing in her room, in front of her desk, frowning at the framed photograph clutched between her fingers. It showed the eight of them at Prom. Kyle had his hand wrapped around Tess' waist, and the petite blonde was looking up at him, her eyes filled with laughter. Next to her, Isabel was turned sideways, glancing over her shoulder at Alex, who was standing behind her and resting his hand lightly on her elbow.

Liz reached out a traced her finger slowly over Alex's face. "I'm so sorry, Alex…" she whispered. "I'm so sorry I dragged you into this whole alien mess. But I'll fix it, I promise. I'll fix everything."

Then she looked back at Tess's smiling face and frowned.

Tess, who had shown up in their sleepy desert town and ruined everything.

Tess with her continual talk of destiny.

Tess and her alien strangeness and her firm determination that she was right and everyone else was wrong.

Ava, who had killed the Seeker's daughter.

Ava, who had been given a second chance at life while the Seeker's daughter lay cold in her grave.

Alex, her best friend.

Alex, who had forgiven her for all her lies.

Alex, who she had grown up with, who she loved.

Alex, who was innocent in this entire mess.

Could she do it? Could she betray Tess, and by doing so betray Max, Isabel, and Michael, all in an effort to save Alex? Was he worth it?

He was Alex. He was someone she would trust with her life. And she wanted to believe that he would trust her with his life as well.

"What do I do, Alex?" she whispered. "What do you think I should do? What would you want me to do?"

She looked at the picture one last time, then replaced it on her desk.

The answer to her question was there, staring out at her from that picture. She had always known what the answer was, always known what she would do in the end. It was always right in front of her, she just had to accept it.

And she finally had.

She knew what she needed to do.

* * *

"_Zan, think about what you are doing," Ava pleaded, shaking her head as she watched her husband pace back and forth across their bedchamber. _

"_I have thought!" Zan spat angrily. He spun around to face Ava, anger evident on every line of his face_

"_And this is the solution you have come up with?" Ava demanded. "Are you out of your mind?"_

_In the throne room, in the council chambers, in the ballroom, at state dinners, and anywhere else in public, Ava played the role of the dutiful wife and Queen. She was opinionated, yes, but she never lifted her voice in anger, never contradicted Zan without taking pains to appear polite and gentle, never lost her temper._

_In private, everything was different._

"_Ava, I am doing the only thing that I can!"_

"_No, you aren't. You're doing what is the easiest."_

"_She's my sister, how do you consider this easy?" Zan snarled, his face twisted with rage._

"_Because this way you can pretend that she, and she alone, was wrong and that she only has herself to blame!" Ava retorted. "You don't have to consider the fact that maybe it is more complicated that that. You don't have to worry that maybe there are other factors. You can condemn her and feel less guilty about what you are doing."_

"_You don't blame her?" Zan asked incredulously._

"_You have no proof that she's working against you. You have no proof of anything! Before you confront her with your accusations, you should make sure you actually have something to confront her with!" Ava replied._

"_I have my suspicions."_

"_And that is not enough. You are the King, but you aren't God."_

"_Do you trust her?" Zan asked softly._

_Ava closed her eyes for a moment, thinking. At last, she replied, "Sria doesn't. You don't. Even Rath… he denies it, but he suspects her also. And I… no, Zan, I do not trust her. But I also don't believe that she would betray you if she didn't think she had a very good reason for doing it."_

"_What good reason could she possibly have for working with Khivar?" Zan hissed._

_Ava shrugged. "Maybe she thinks it is better for the planet. Maybe she thinks she can convince Khivar to work with you and not against you. Maybe she doesn't realize how dangerous he is… I don't know her reasons Zan. But she is your sister and I know that she loves you. I know that she would never do anything to hurt you unless she thought it was absolutely necessary."_

_Zan swallowed and nodded slowly. "You are right, of course," he murmured. "I just… I don't know what to do."_

"_You're a good person, Zan, a good king, a good husband, and a good brother. Whatever decision you make, I know it will be the right one," Ava replied reassuringly, placing a hand on her husband's elbow and smiling up at him gently. "And whatever decision you make, I'll support it."_

"_I could never do this without you," Zan whispered._

_Ava laughed softly. "Then it is a good thing that I am still here."_

* * *

A choice is a split in the future. Once you make your choice, all the other futures that could have come into existence had you made a different choice will fade away into nothing. They don't exist anymore.

Some choices are like dying stars. You don't know what is going to happen when you make the decision, and the effects don't become clear until a long time after you've made your final choice.


	18. Humanity

Title: Providence

Disclaimer: I don't own anything

Author's note: So, there aren't any flashback to Antar in this chapter. I'm still including them, but they'll be more sporadic now. Also, in the first part of this chapter, I talk about 'my daughter.' I don't have a daughter. I'm not married. I'm nineteen. I'm in college. But, for the example to work, I had to pretend to have a daughter. So suspend reality while you read that and imagine that I am older, married, and a mother.

* * *

Chapter Eighteen: Humanity

Does humanity gives us strength? Or does it weaken us until we are no longer able to think clearly and rationally about any given situation?

I believe that torture is wrong. I believe this because I do not think that it is morally permissible to inflict that sort of pain and torment on anther human being.

If our enemy had an atomic bomb that was scheduled to be dropped on New York City in thirty minutes, and the only way to determine the codes that would terminate the launch and save millions of lives was to torture one of the enemy soldiers we had captured, what would the right course of action be? Torture and save millions of lives, or not torture and let all those people die?

What if it wasn't millions of lives? What if it was one person? One stranger we didn't know who would be saved if we accepted the idea of torture? Or… what if it was one person we did know?

What if it was a family member?

If my child had been kidnapped, and the only way to find them was to torture the kidnapper until he talked, what would I do? Would I give in to the darker part of my nature and torture the man until my precious daughter was back safely in my arms? Or would I stand on my morals and lose my daughter forever? What would I do?

What would you do?

What does humanity do to us? Does it make us strong, or does it make us weak?

* * *

"Izzie?" Michael approached her slowly, studying everything about her. Her shoulders were tense, her body too straight and too stiff. She was staring at something just above his head, refusing to meet his gaze. When she didn't answer, Michael sighed and leaned against the wall. They were alone in the hallway outside his apartment, and for that he was glad. This wasn't a conversation he particularly wanted overheard by his neighbors. 

He ran a hand through his hair. The sound of footsteps caught his attention, and he turned around in time to see Tess leave the apartment, followed by Jim. Max did not appear, so Michael reasoned he was still inside. He wondered what Tess and Max had talked about, and if they had reached any understanding.

Then he switched his gaze back to Isabel. "Are you alright?" he asked, cringing slightly as the words left his mouth. They were hollow and trite, but he just couldn't think of anything else to say.

Isabel gave a shrug and looked at him. Her eyes were tired, but more than that, they were older. Older, as though she had seen years of battles, as though she had lived a life of difficult decisions, as though she was really one of the Royal Four.

Michael inhaled sharply as he realized that he could see Vilandra's life in Isabel's eyes.

"Sometimes I wake up in the middle of the night, and I know that I've dreamt about Vilandra's life, but I just can't quite remember the dream. It's like all the answers are there, in my subconscious, and I… I can't reach them." Isabel shook her head. "It's easier that way, not remembering who I was. I've heard about what I did, but to actually remember it…"

"We don't know anything about who you were or what you did," Michael pointed out. "The only reason we have for believing that you betrayed us is because our _enemies_ told us so."

Isabel nodded. "But they told us the truth," she said firmly. She knew that. She wasn't sure how she knew since she couldn't even remember the smallest fragments of her past life, but she knew that Vilandra had betrayed them. She could feel it.

And it didn't even surprise her anymore. After all, she had completely ignored every warning sign that Alex was not really Alex, therefore submitting the boy she was supposedly in love with to unthinkable dangers, and all because it had been better for her not to admit to the obvious. It was not so hard to suspect that Vilandra could have done the same thing, refusing to see the bad in Khivar because it was in her own interest to think him a saint.

She looked over at Michael and was hit by the sudden sensation of standing knee-deep in thick snow. She was cold, and the air whipped around her, tears streamed down her face. Her voice was hoarse from shouting, from begging, but whoever she was crying to had turned away and left her.

"Izzie?" Michael's voice shook her from the dream and she frowned, confused. Michael reached out and placed a hand on her elbow, concern etched into the lines of his face. "Are you alright?"

Isabel nodded and looked down at the ground. "I'm fine," she lied. "I just… I just need some time. I just need to figure some things out." She stepped past Michael, and he turned and watched her walk away.

As she left, he felt a sudden cold breeze in the hallway, felt his skin begin to crawl. He could hear her crying out to him, begging him for something, but he somehow knew that he was interested in what she was saying. He had turned away from her and moved on, forgetting about her cries.

As soon as the flash appeared, it faded away, and Michael watched Isabel's retreating back in confusion and wonder.

Once Isabel had left, Michael walked back to his apartment. He opened the door to find Max standing there, staring out the window, and unreadable expression on his face. Michael closed the door sharply, and Max looked up for a brief moment, before sighing and looking away again.

"So, what now, fearless leader?" Michael asked sarcastically.

Max shrugged. "I don't know," he admitted slowly.

"You're the king," Michael pointed out dryly. "You're the one who's supposed to make all the decisions." His voice was mocking, and Max turned to glare at him.

"What if I don't want to be the king?" Max demanded, knowing even as he said the words that he sounded like a petulant toddler. "What if I don't want to lead us?"

"Sucks to be you," Michael replied carelessly.

Max sighed again. His eyes were darker than usual, and his stance was stiff. He's face was stern and cold, but Michael could see the exhaustion in his eyes. "I think I've officially screwed up everything with Tess," Max commented after a moment's pause.

"Do you care?" Michael asked, raising an eyebrow.

Max thought about Liz for a moment, then thought about Tess. And Ava. And his past life. He ran a hand through his hair and replied honestly. "I don't know anymore." Then he gave a dark chuckle. "I don't know much about anything. I especially don't know how to be a king."

Michael didn't know what to say to that, so he said nothing at all, and the two lapsed into silence.

* * *

Alex closed his eyes and leaned back against the bed of the motel room. He had decided to recoup here instead of at the real Alex's house in case the Royal Four came looking for him. Although he was fairly certain that they would not risk attacking him again, he still did not want to take that chance. 

_Turns out they're a bit stronger than you originally thought_, the quiet voice in his head mocked.

"No," he replied, his words echoing in the silent room. "They're just as weak as I assumed they would be. Ava was a fool to think she could take me."

_If they are really that weak, why are you so injured? _

He opened his eyes and stood up suddenly, annoyed at the voice. "Shut up," he snapped. He didn't want a reminder of what had happened. He had managed to best Ava in the fight, but it should have been easier than that. He was a king, and she was just a weak hybrid girl.

_Oh, did I hit a nerve? _

He rubbed his eyes for a moment, then replied, "Don't you realize they'll never be able to free you now?"

_Come again? _

"Ava… or, Tess, as you call her… must have realized when she was fighting me that if she simply tries to kick me out of your head, she'll run the risk of killing you. And they aren't going to take that risk, so they'll just leave you trapped inside this body." He smirked at the irony of the situation. If the Royal Four tried to force him out, they might be able to save Alex. But they wouldn't do anything that would risk actually killing their friend. Which meant that they would not be able to save him. Ever.

_They'll find another way. _

"What makes you so sure?" he sneered.

_I know them. _

"Then you know that they would rather leave you forever trapped in this body that I currently control, but still alive, than actually take the risk of being responsible for your death. Their… _humanity_…" he spat the word with disgust, "clouds their judgment in the situation and leaves you to suffer."

The voice inside his head was silent, and he smiled in triumph, having won the argument.

* * *

Matt was waiting at the Crashdown when Tess arrived. He was sitting in a booth, chatting with one of the waitresses Tess didn't recognize, but he stood up as soon as he caught sight of Tess and hurried over with a smile. 

"Hey," Tess greeted warmly. But as she said the words, a chill ran through her, and she remembered Zan, standing on the beach, watching the sun rise and cast rays of light over the thick water.

"Hey yourself," Matt replied. He reached out and hesitantly extended his arm towards Tess, unsure if they were at the point in the relationship were he was supposed to hug her. But Tess didn't reply, just looked at him with a far away look in her eyes, and he let his arm drop to his side self-consciously.

"Sorry, I just…" Tess stuttered, realizing what she had just done. She stepped forward to hug him, but Matt stiffened slightly, and she stopped. She stared at Matt for a moment, and all she could think about was that he didn't look at her the same way Zan looked at Ava.

Matt flushed and Tess inhaled sharply, and the silence was suddenly awkward and tense. Matt frowned, glancing down at the white tiles on the floor, and Tess rubbed her arms.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean…"

"No, it's my fault, I shouldn't have…"

Matt lapsed into silence, and Tess bit her lip. After a moment, Tess said softly, almost diffidently, "This is awkward."

"Yeah…" Matt agreed.

Even the timber of his voice was different from Zan's. It was deeper, and softer, and lacked the authoritative ring that carried commands.

Tess ran a hand through her hair. She was remembering Zan, but this was Matt. A human. A guy she liked, but did she like him enough?

Max didn't look at her the way Zan looked at Ava. Max's voice didn't carry the same tone as Zan's. She was never going to find the man she remembered, and maybe it was time to stop looking.

"It's just been a very strange morning," Tess said at last, forcing a smile. "Why don't we start over, and maybe I can get it right this time?"

Matt nodded. "That sounds like a good idea." He turned around and took a few steps away from her, then turned back.

"Hey," Tess greeted warmly.

"Hey yourself," Matt replied, reaching out to hug her. Tess returned the hug, and Matt said approvingly, "Much better the second time."

"I'm a fast learner," Tess quipped.

Matt linked his fingers through hers and lead her back to the booth. As she slipped into the seat, he turned and took two menus from the passing waitress. "Here," he handed one to her and then took his seat across from her and leaned back.

"Thanks," Tess replied, flipping open the menu. She studied Matt's posture. It was calm and relaxed. He was leaning back in the seat, not slouched, but not tense either.

Zan sat stiffly, as though he carried the weight of the world on his shoulders. Which, of course, he did.

Tess blinked, and realized suddenly that she was thinking about Zan in the present tense, as though he was still alive.

* * *

Nasedo POV

I was never what you would call a good father.

Obsessive, controlling, secretive, manipulative, conniving.

And, okay, so I was a mass murderer also.

Not really a good father.

But I'd like to claim that I wasn't a bad one either. I never hurt Tess. I never laid a hand on her. I never hit her, I never starved her, I never neglected her. I never belittled her.

Okay, I told her she shouldn't have emotions, that they made her weak and human. For the record, I was right about that one. They do make you weak and human.

There are bad parents in the world. Parents who are abusive or neglectful. Just as Michael.

I was never one of those.

When Tess was eight, I made us move. There actually wasn't a reason to move. The FBI wasn't on to out location yet, and I was still able to gather bits and pieces of information about the other three, and what might have happened to them.

But Tess… she got close to these kids at school. She made friends.

And, well, we couldn't have that, could we? The Queen on Antar can't be friends with _humans_.

So I moved us, even though we didn't have to move. And Tess sobbed about it because she just didn't understand, and I didn't have time for her tears so I told her to stop acting like a brat and start acting like a queen.

And this is the point where you tell me that I'm a cruel and racist (or speciesist) man. Alien. Whatever.

And, of course, you are wondering how I can still justify that I was not a bad father.

Although, I suppose at some point you've also probably started to wonder how I can be talking seeing as I am dead and all that.

But, really, that's besides the point.

I made Tess move because having friends makes you weak. It makes you human. It brings out your emotions.

And there are all those people in the world who say that it is actually humanity that makes you strong. That it is this caring for one another, this love for people, that gives you the courage necessary to overcome great hurtles.

All those people are wrong.

This is a war, and our enemies are aliens, not humans. Humanity will get you killed.

Tess is smart. Tess in cunning. Tess is ruthless.

And she's sweet and kind and caring and all that other human nonsense. Personally, I blame the Valentis for that. I never should have left the kid, but how was I to know the humans would screw her up so much?

But I digress…

Like I said, Tess is smart. Smart enough to survive. And in the end, that's all that really matters. Survival.

I remember my death quiet clearly. We were standing in the desert, and Congresswoman Whitaker was staring at me coolly. I lied to her, I pretended to be Pierce, I… well, I did a lot of things you aren't supposed to do to the woman with whom you are having… _relations_.

And I almost felt bad about it.

And then the skin started peeling off the back of her neck and it was like I was stuck in some stupid horror movie and I actually had the nerve to feel _betrayed_.

Apparently I wasn't the only one lying in that relationship.

But Tess will not make the same mistake I did.

I was cruel, I suppose. And I'll willing admit to being manipulative, cunning, and conniving.

But Tess learned. She's hardened now. She's strong. She fought Khivar, and lived. She faced the Seeker, and lived. She had her entire family turn their backs on her, and yet she still survived.

And, as I said before, survival is everything.

I gave her that. I made her who she is. From a human point of view, every bad characteristic she's got is because of me. This obsession with destiny and previous lives on Antar, this calculating insight, this coldness… I know, I know, you're all thinking that I'm the one who screwed her up, not the Valentis.

So the Valentis are the reason she can sit and enjoy a date with her _human_ boyfriend. The Valentis are the reason she can smiled and laugh and tease her friends like a normal human. The Valentis are the reason she can cry when she's hurt instead of keeping it all inside and pretending like everything is okay until she completely falls apart.

But I'm the reason she's still alive.

You may disagree with my methods (most people do), but can you really look me in the eyes (figuratively, of course, since I am dead) and tell me that I was a bad father?


	19. The Fall of Lucifer

Title: Providence

Disclaimer: I don't own anything

Author's note: So, a lot of things in this chapter aren't quite what they seem. Do not take everything at face value. Wait until the chapter after this, it will reveal the answers to a lot of the questions you've all been asking.

* * *

Chapter Nineteen: The Fall of Lucifer

"_I need to speak to you."_

_Ava looked up from her vanity in surprise. It was late, and she was just preparing for bed when the door swung open to reveal Lessa. She raised an eyebrow at the other girl and frowned slightly. Ladies-in-waiting did not just barge into the Queen's quarters at night, and they certainly didn't do it without being summoned._

"_Yes?" Ava asked curiously. Was something wrong?_

_Lessa shifted nervously from one foot to the other and bit her lip. She was afraid, that much showed plainly on her face, but whatever it was she was thinking was well hidden behind her wide eyes._

"_Is everything alright?" Ava asked as the silence stretched out. Had someone been hurt? Zan? Rath or Vilandra? Sria…?Her chest tightened at the thought that those she loved could be in danger._

_However, Lessa's next words confused her enough to forget that fear._

"_I know what you are doing," Lessa said quietly. Her voice was low and shaking, but her eyes had hardened and her words were firm. _

"_I beg your pardon?" Ava asked, not understanding the meaning of the cryptic comment._

"_I thought I could ignore. My loyalty is to you, and I thought I could ignore what you were doing. But I find that I can not. Knowing what I know, how can I still look you in the eye and give you my obedience and respect?"_

"_Lessa, explain yourself clearly or leave," Ava demanded. She was wear,y and frustrated by the conversation, and in no mood to exchange cryptic comments with a servant she barely even knew._

"_He loves you, you know," Lessa murmured. "King Zan loves you so much and you are playing him for a fool. How can you do this to him?" She watched the emotions flicker across Ava's face. She was looking for a sign of guilt, but none was there. Still, the Queen was a superb actress, that she already knew. After all, she had managed to get this far without Zan suspecting anything, and that was quite impressive, given what she had done. _

"_I'm afraid I do not know what you are talking about," Ava said coolly. Whatever Lessa meant, it was an accusation, and Ava did not take kindly to accusations._

"_Khivar," Lessa said. Ava gave her a sharp look, and Lessa hurried to say, "I know that you're sleeping with Khivar." _

_Ava gave her an icy look as the words echoed in the space between them, hanging in the air._

* * *

Liz stared around the empty park, waiting. He had told her, if she ever wanted to talk to him, that he'd be around. She was hoping that somehow, some alien sense would tell him that she was looking for him and he would miraculously appear. 

As she waited, she wondered if she was doing the right thing. She wondered if she actually had any idea what she was doing, or had she gone insane?

And then he was there, appearing in front of her so suddenly that she almost jumped in surprise.

"I don't suppose you've changed your mind?" the Seeker asked, a smile curving the corners of his lips.

"How do I know that you'll really help us free Alex?" Liz demanded. "If I just turn Tess… Ava… over to you, what's to keep you from leaving?"

The Seeker considered this for a moment. "You're a suspicious one," he commented at last. "It will serve you well in life."

"Thanks," Liz replied dryly. "But you didn't answer my question."

The Seeker grinned slyly. "I give you my word."

"That's not enough," Liz replied bluntly.

The Seeker hesitated, then said, "I don't know what else to tell you. My word is all I have to offer."

Liz bit her lip. She didn't trust this man standing in front of her, but she doubted she'd be able to get much more out of him.

The Seeker, seeing her dilemma, ventured the promise, "I give you my word on my daughter's grave, I won't betray you."

Liz swallowed nervously, suddenly feeling incredibly guilty about what she was doing. "Fine," she agreed at last. "But Tess is strong, how do you know she won't just kill you?"

"The Queen is not threat to me," the Seeker replied dismissively. "She's weak, and I can overpower her easily."

Liz just nodded apprehensively.

* * *

"What do you mean, Tess attacked Alex?" Maria demanded, pacing her room. 

"Well, Alex…well, actually it was Khivar… attacked me, and Tess fought him," Michael explained from his seat on her bed. After speaking to Max, he had decided to visit Maria and inform her of the events that had taken place.

Unfortunately, she had latched on to the idea of Tess attacking Alex, and refused to let it go.

"I thought we had agreed not to do that," Maria questioned. "At least, not until we knew for certain whether or not it would hurt Alex… the real Alex."

Michael sighed. It was the third or forth time they were going through this, and he was getting tired of the repetition. "She didn't really have a choice."

Maria swallowed back a bitter retort and nodded. She could tell by the weariness in Michael's eyes that he was losing patience with her, and she didn't want to push the subject too far. "I'm sorry," she said at last. "I'm just scared."

"I know," Michael replied, thankful that she had finished being angry at Tess. "We all are. And we're going to save him. I promise we will." Even as he said the words, he wondered if it was a promise he could keep.

Maria nodded and stared at Michael. There was a distance between them now, a distance she couldn't quite overcome. It wasn't physical, but mental… or maybe spiritual? She wasn't sure, but she could feel it, and it stretched out, unsurpassable.

"Michael…? What happened to us?" Maria whispered, reaching out towards him with one hand.

Michael stared at her and didn't answer, and her hand stayed in midair until she withdrew it and turned away, glancing out of the window at the gray sky.

"Nothing happened," Michael replied firmly, but Maria shook her head and wondered if Michael realized that he was just lying to himself.

* * *

Max fell back onto his bed, exhausted. Physically, he was fine. Mentally, he was a wreck. He was inconsequential. He was the king of an entire planet, and yet he was so completely inconsequential to everything. There was a war being fought in his name, fought for him, and he couldn't lead. He couldn't make the right decisions. Hell, he didn't even know what the choices were. He was a screw up, a failure, and the pressure kept pushing in on him, suffocating him the more he tried to think about it. 

If Tess was right, if she really couldn't get Khivar out of Alex's body without hurting Alex, then Alex was as good as dead. This strange man that had attacked Tess was still out there somewhere, and they didn't know what he wanted or how powerful he was. Tess said he was strong, but how strong? And then there was Liz and that steadily crumbling relationship. He loved Liz, he knew he did. He always had, always since third grade when he first saw her. But things kept getting in the way and right now that thing was a petite blonde hybrid by the name of Tess.

Tess. _That_ was complicated enough that he didn't want to think about it. Of course, it was difficult not to think about it when he couldn't get her out of his mind.

She brushed him off when he asked to speak to her. She had a date. It wasn't until that moment that he realized how important having her support had actually been to him. She was the only one he could count on being there for him, no matter what, and now… Now she was walking away.

Michael rebelled against his decisions. Isabel hated that he was controlling. But neither of them had ever felt the pressure he was under. Neither of them understood what it was like to realize that you held the fate of an entire world in your hands.

Was it ending? Was his inability to be the king everyone needed going to be the final blow that felled the resistance against Khivar?

* * *

Tess stared at Liz for a moment, a frown on her face. "Max isn't here," she said slowly. She had just returned from her date with Matt which, despite the rocky beginning, had turned out to be a success. And she had stepped into her house to find Liz sitting on the sofa in the living room, waiting for her. 

"I know," Liz said quietly. "Um… Kyle let me in, said I could wait for you."

Tess nodded and dropped her coat onto the sofa. "Okay. Well, I'm here. What's up?"

"I need your help," Liz replied. She hesitated, then offered a slightly smile and added, "Again."

Tess managed a tiny grin and replied, "You better be careful or I might start to think you don't hate me anymore." She took a seat on the armchair across from Liz and asked curiously, "What do you need my help with?"

Liz bit her lip for a moment, then said, "I can't tell you." She ran a hand through her hair nervously and looked at the floor. "I just… I need you to meet me at the Crashdown tomorrow after school. And… I need you to come by yourself."

"Are you trying to kill me?" Tess asked, half-joking.

Liz smiled weakly. "Trust me?" she requested.

Tess stared at Liz for a moment, thinking. Did she trust Liz? Liz was a good person, that much she was sure of. And Liz loved Max, so it was unlikely she would do anything dangerous that could possibly get them all killed. So did she trust Liz?

Enough, she decided. She trusted Liz enough. Maybe not completely, but enough to agree to this request.

"Tomorrow after school," she said, and Liz smiled, pleased.

* * *

_It was late at night, and the garden was almost entirely empty. Vilandra walked quietly through the flower beds, watching as the moonlight reflected off the still surface of the pond and danced along the dewdrops on the leaves of the gnarled trees. The grass bent under her feet as she walked, and she could not help but be lost in the serenity of it all._

_Until she stepped through a particular set of closely planted trees and found herself standing in a small grotto, staring in horror at the scene in front of her._

_Lessa Du'vale lay on the ground, her chest covered with blood. Her eyes were closed, and even from the distance Vilandra could tell that she was no longer breathing. Standing over her body, one hand reaching out towards the girl, was Ava. The Queens robes were stained with blood and expression was unreadable._

"_Ava…?" Lonnie gasped in terror. "Ava, what have you done?"_

* * *

Lucifer was beloved by God. The brightest angel in the Heavens, a prince among his brethren. Then God created humans, and they ate from the forbidden fruit and they fell into sin against Him, and Lucifer spoke out, saying to God, "See how these humans have sinned? Cast them from Your grace for they are not fit to be your servants." 

And God replied, "They are not meant to be My servants, but rather they are meant to be My children." And he cast Lucifer away from him for the angel had spoken against God's creation. And Lucifer fell, and as he fell he distorted himself until he was no longer the bright angel, but rather the dark one, the enemy of God.

The devil.

And what was his crime? Merely that he misunderstood his role and the role of men and women in the world God had created.

Rather a harsh punishment for an honest mistake.

People make mistakes. They do what they think is right, not realizing that they didn't understand the truth of the matter. And, like Lucifer, they fall hard and fast, unable to stop their plummet towards the inescapable end.


	20. The Book of Job

Title: Providence

Disclaimer: I don't own anything

Author's note: Um… I don't really have much to say. This chapter needs to be read all the way to the end, so if at some point in the middle you decide you hate it and don't want to read my story anymore, please at least finish the chapter.

* * *

Chapter Twenty: The Book of Job

Forgive me while I get a little religious here.

In the Book of Job, Satan and God get into an argument. God is praising the virtues of Job (the hero of our story) and Satan walks over to God and says something to the effect of, "Job loves and praises you now, but if you ruined his life, do you think he would still be so righteous?"

And God replies by saying, "Well, let's find out. I'll ruin his life, and we'll see what he does." So he kills of Job's wife and children, destroys his livelihood, and inflicts him with terrible illnesses. All for the sake of pointing out to Satan that Job is a righteous man who would never sway from God, regardless of the hardships he suffers.

Because _that's_ fair.

At the end of the story, Job still respects and loves God. And so God wins the argument with Satan and he repays Job for his faith by giving Job a new wife and new children and new wealth. And apparently this makes everything okay again, and Job is happy.

Because that's _logical_.

Forgive me while I get a little blasphemous here.

What happened to Job's first wife and kids? And why did God think it was fair to inflict Job with all these horrible things just to satisfy his own curiosity about the matter? And why on Earth did Job not grow a backbone and demand an explanation from God?

In case you haven't noticed, I don't like this story.

* * *

_Zan stood stiffly and stared at the closed door in front of him. A few moments prior, two guards had informed him that they had discovered the Queen and the Princess in the royal gardens… with a dead body. The Princess had been crying hysterically and shouting some incoherent phrases at the Queen. The Queen had remained silent the entire time, just staring blankly at the dead girl. The guards, unsure of what to do at this point, had quickly escorted the Princess and the Queen back to their chambers, and then removed the body from the garden. The dead girl would be cleaned and dressed in proper funeral attire, and then her father would be notified._

_Zan sighed and rubbed the bridge of his nose wearily. Behind the closed door in front of him, his wife and Queen was sitting, most likely trying to understand what had happened. _

_Zan wondered how much she knew._

_The King had gone first to his sister. Vilandra had been terrified, and when Zan entered the room, she threw herself at him, weeping. She had muttered, over and over, that this was all her fault and that she should not have told Lessa the secret._

_Zan was not entirely sure what the secret was, but he knew that it had to do with Ava. He was also able to discern from the few coherent words Vilandra was able to utter that the Princess believed that the Queen was responsible for this death._

_He had left his sister, giving her strict orders not to leave her room, and not to speak to anyone. Then he forbade the guards from allowing anyone, even Rath, into his sister's room. He had to discover what exactly had happened, and he had to do it quickly. And he could not afford to have the matter complicated by rumors or gossip._

_Slowly, the King stepped forward and pushed the door open. Ava was sitting on the bed, her face averted from him. Zan shut the door tightly behind him and stepped further into the room. "Ava?"_

_Ava glanced over her shoulder at him. "Lonnie thinks I killed her, doesn't she?"_

_Zan swallowed and nodded. "Do you know what happened?" he asked. What he really wanted to ask was whether or not Lonnie was right, had Ava actually killed the girl? But he couldn't force the words out of his mouth because if she had killed Lessa, he didn't think he would be able to bear the answer. She was the Queen, yes, but murder was still murder, especially if it was as unprovoked as Vilandra seemed to think._

_Ava didn't look at him. She knew what he was really asking, and she didn't know if there was any satisfactory answer she could give. "I have a guess," she murmured, "but no real knowledge."_

"_Where did Lonnie get her ideas from?" Zan asked, taking a seat on the bed. The mattress sagged slightly under his weight. He stared at the canopy, at the lace and silk that draped over the four posters. He, too, was avoiding his love's gaze._

_Ava gave a bitter laugh. "I think we both have suspicions about that," she remarked._

"_If this gets out… Even if it is only rumors, even if we deny it… Ava, if the people think you murdered a girl in cold blood…"_

_Ava turned and looked at Zan sharply. "I know," she replied bitterly. Murder was murder, even if she was the Queen._

"_We need answers," Zan said, looking away again. "We are nearing war, and Khivar grows stronger every day. Lessa is by no means important or powerful, but any court scandal or intrigue could turn the people away from us… this could ruin us… Ava… these are dangerous times, and we need answers."_

_Ava nodded. "I don't have any to give," she replied, although she agreed with Zan's assessment._

"_You have some," Zan retorted._

_Ava colored. "Ask me what you really want to know," she demanded coldly. "Ask me the question, Zan."_

_Zan hesitated. "My sister thinks Lessa knew something. Some secret about you… something you had done to betray us… me. Is that… did you kill her to protect yourself?" He gave Ava a scrutinizing stare, waiting with abated breath for her answer._

_Ava returned his gaze. "No," she said softly but firmly. "No, I didn't."_

* * *

Michael slammed his locker shut and turned in time to see Tess and Liz exit the school together. He frowned slightly, confused. Tess and Liz were hardly friends, and even though they got along better now, neither girl made an effort to hang out with the other one. He was about to follow them when he caught sight of Isabel walking towards him.

"Are you okay?" Michael asked her, reaching out and placing a hand gently on her shoulder. She had been so upset last night, and Michael hadn't spoken to her since she had left his apartment.

Isabel raised an eyebrow. She had definitely had a rough night, trying to organize her conflicting feelings and emotions. And, as usual, when she was around Michael, the feelings got more complicated and more complex.

She offered a tight smile. "Yeah… I had some time to think."

Michael opened his mouth to say something, but Maria was suddenly at his side. The human girl gave a quizzical look towards the hand Michael was still resting on Isabel's shoulder. Michael instantly dropped it and took a step back from Isabel. Isabel hesitated, running a hand through her hair and looking slightly flustered.

"Have you seen Liz?" Maria asked curiously.

"She left with Tess," Michael replied, gesturing vaguely towards the doors at the other end of the hallway. Maria raised an eyebrow at that, but decided not to comment on it. Isabel shivered, feeling suddenly awkward and out of place.

"I'm going to go find Max," she declared abruptly, and turned, spinning on her heel and disappearing into the crowd of students pushing through the hallway.

Michael stared after her for a moment, lost in his own thoughts.

"Michael…?" Maria tilted her head to one side and regarded her boyfriend. He wasn't looking at her, and she wondered if he'd even heard a word she'd said.

She turned and glanced over her shoulder at the exit. Liz and Tess could only have left a few moments before, and maybe if she hurried she could catch up with them. She had no desire to talk to Tess, but she and Liz hadn't really spoken since they discovered that Alex was being possessed, and Maria knew that she needed to fix things with her best friend. They needed to stick together now more than ever.

She slipped away, leaving Michael standing alone in the hallway.

Michael rubbed the back of his head absently as he continued to stare in the direction Isabel had gone. As usual, the turbulent emotions had risen within him again, and he struggled to sort them out, to determine his actual feelings for Isabel and for Maria. Finally, he pushed the thoughts away, realizing he was getting nowhere at the moment, and turned to look for Maria.

But by the time he'd turned around, she'd already disappeared.

* * *

The Seeker waited impatiently, pacing the back room of the diner. He ran a hand through his hair and closed his eyes, picturing his daughter's pale face. He could so clearly remember when the news of her death came. He had been standing in the kitchen of his small house, and Kree had entered. The landlord's normally gruff features had fallen into a look of pity and empathy, and the Seeker knew right away that something was wrong.

When he heard those dreaded words…

He opened his eyes and brutally shoved the thoughts away. Today it would finally end. Today Ava would pay for her crime.

The door opened and two girls entered. Ava… no, Tess was what she was called now… was the first to notice him, and she froze on the spot, her eyes wide. She lifted a hand, prepared to attack him, and he smirked and carelessly flicked his fingers at her, sending her sprawling into the far wall.

"Wait!" the other girl ran forward, standing in front of the fallen blonde hybrid. "First tell me how to free Alex."

The Seeker hesitated, staring coldly at the brunette in front of him. She glared back, her brown eyes narrowed, daring him to refuse. He smirked at her, his lips twisting into a cruel smile and replied, "What if I refused?"

"You swore on your daughter's grave," Liz spat angrily. "You _swore_!" She hesitated, then glanced back at the blonde who had risen to her feet. "If you betray your word, then you are no better than Ava was," she said, her voice quiet, but ringing with authority.

"Liz… what have you done?" Tess whispered, eyes wide with horror. She backed away, reaching out towards the door, but the Seeker raised a hand and slammed the door shut, locking it with his powers. Tess swallowed in fear, still backing away.

"Get out of the way, human," the Seeker snarled, raising a hand again. Electricity crackled from his palm.

"No," Liz refused. She was shaking with fear, but she held her ground, refusing to back down. "Not until you tell me how to save Alex."

"You sold me out to him?" Tess demanded, glaring at Liz. "You asked me to trust you and I did, and this is what I get? This is how you repay me?" She was angry enough to attack the other girl, and shook took a few threatening steps. Liz gave her a quick glance, but the Seeker simply raised his hand again, and Tess felt the world spin around her as her legs gave out and she fell to the floor.

If she hadn't fought Khivar yesterday, she would have had the strength to deal with this. But she had fought him, and it had drained her and now…

Liz spun around to face the Seeker. "We had a deal," she hissed, once again moving in front of Tess.

The Seeker sighed in frustration. He had no intention of breaking his end of the bargain, but he did not want to be distracted by it right now. Ava was here, in front of him, and so close… so easy to kill… He had waited so long for this moment and this stupid human was standing in his way.

But he also did not want to kill the human, and he had made a promise. He would not go back on that promise, he couldn't, because he had sworn on Lessa's grave. "Khivar is possessing him through his dreams."

"I don't understand," Liz pressed. "What does that mean? How does it help us?"

The Seeker narrowed his eyes at Tess, who had pulled herself to her knees. She was looking up at them, her eyes fixed on Liz with pure hatred. But as she turned to face him, he felt the power radiating through her and watched in detached amusement as she pressed her palm outwards, towards him.

Did she really think she was strong enough to take him?

Green dots of electricity danced around her fingers, and the Seeker was thrown backwards. He rolled quickly to his knees and countered with a blast of his own energy, a beam of pure white light. Tess, reacting faster than he would have thought possible, given her currently exhausted state, conjured a force field. The beam of light and the force field met in midair, a shimmering mass of light. Tess gasped in surprise and wavered under the strain of keeping the protection around her strong. The Seeker bit his lip as he fought against her. She was strong, but he was still stronger, and the force field was slowly melting away.

"Stop it!" Out of nowhere, Liz shoved her hands against his chest, and the Seeker lost his balance and stumbled backwards.

"How dare you…?" the Seeker demanded, his voice shaking with rage. How dare the insignificant human interfere? He was going to kill the Queen!

"You made a promise," Liz repeated, and there was real fear in her eyes. Fear that he would break his promise, fear that he would never tell her about Alex. And fear of something else, but he didn't know what it was.

"Do you know what it is like to receive your daughter's dead body?" the Seeker asked, his voice deathly calm. "She did _nothing_! Nothing at all… This was not our war, and she got dragged into it by the Queen. Why do we care if Khivar or Zan wins? Why should I care about any of it? She was my daughter, she was the only thing that mattered to me and she is dead now. _Dead_!" The raw pain in his words caused Liz to take a step back, and tears began to pool in her eyes.

She had always known that they were fighting a war on Antar. But this was the first time that she had seen the true effects of that war.

"You promised," she repeated, but her words shook slightly.

The Seeker glared at her. Liz placed her hands on her hips and stared back, her body trembling. Tess was pulling herself to her feet again, and eyeing the other two uneasily.

"Khivar has possessed the human boy through his dreams. This allows him to access all of your friend's memories, emotions, and thoughts, which is something that he would not be able to do with a normal possession. He needed access to these so that he would be able to better imitate your friend, so that none of you would notice."

Liz nodded. "Okay," she said, "so how do we get him out?"

The Seeker gave a grim smile. "The only way to safely remove him from your friend is to attack him through your friend's dreams."

"I don't understand," Liz said.

It was Tess who answered the question. "Isabel. Isabel is the only one who can dream-walk. She is the only one who can fight Khivar, and keep Alex alive at the same time."

"Okay," Liz said thoughtfully. "Okay." Then she frowned at Tess. "Why do you look so unhappy about that?" she demanded. What was the hybrid not telling her?

"Khivar wants to turn Isabel into Vilandra," Tess replied, rubbing her arms nervously. "That's why he possessed Alex. If Isabel tries to attack him through Alex's dreams, she'll be opening up her mind to him. She'd be taking a really big risk because it would make it a lot easier for him to turn her." For a moment, both she and Liz forgot where they were and what was happening, and they stood together, contemplating the new bit of information, and what it would mean for Alex's future.

"Not my problem," the Seeker interjected. He turned to Liz. "I gave you what you wanted, now give me what I want." He gestured for Liz to move out of the way so that he could properly attack Tess.

Liz looked at him, tears pooling in her eyes. "I'm sorry," she whispered, and the Seeker felt the first stirrings of fear within him.

"What do you mean?" he demanded, raising a hand again. "Move!"

Liz shook her head. "You swore on your daughter's grave, and you… you've suffered so much… I know that you deserve retribution… And Ava probably deserves to pay…"

"If you know that, then move!" the Seeker hissed again. He was suddenly seized by an inexplicable fear. But it made no sense. How could this human or the weak hybrid Queen possibly be a threat to him? And yet the panic was there, growing stronger every second, flooding through his veins.

"You are a good person," Liz murmured. "You keep your promises. And I… I don't."

She extended her hands, and in them she was clutching a small pentagon shaped device. She switched the dial in the center, and a pulse of light extended outwards in a circle, knocking both Tess and the Seeker to their knees.

"I'm sorry," Liz whispered again, the she turned and walked over to Tess. Reaching out, she grabbed the blonde by the shoulders and pulled her to her feet.

"_Liz, what's going on?" Tess asked as she followed Liz towards the Crashdown. "You're being mysterious."_

"_I have an idea. And it is stupid and dangerous and no one in their right mind would agree to it," Liz explained, "but it might help us save Alex."_

"_Okay…" Tess glanced at Liz nervously._

_Liz sighed, then began explaining the deal the Seeker had offered her before. Tess listened, baffled and slightly surprised, but said nothing, allowing Liz to finish._

"_And obviously I wasn't going to take it, but then I thought about this." She reached into her pocket and pulled out a small pentagon-shaped device. It was black metal, and Tess stared at the dial, reached out to touch in gently with her fingers._

"_Don't," Liz said, pulling it away. "It has a bad effect on Czechoslovakians." Tess raised an eyebrow, and Liz elaborated, "Brody found it last year. We discovered that it prevents you all from being able to use your powers. It should work on the Seeker, so I… _borrowed_… it last night."_

_Tess' eyes widened and she realized what Liz was saying. "You want to double cross him?" she asked softly._

"_For this to work, you have to pretend like you don't know the plan," Liz murmured. She gave Tess a serious look. "It's dangerous and stupid, and we could get killed."_

"_Do you think it could work?" Tess asked. "That he'll keep his promise and tell you how to save Alex before he tries to kill me?"_

_Liz looked away, thinking about the Seeker, and how he had sworn on his daughter's grave. "Yes," she said firmly. "Yes, I do."_

_Tess lapsed into silence, thinking. She hadn't stopped walking yet, and Liz hoped that meant that she was going to agree._

_Finally, Tess asked, "Why are you telling me this now? Why didn't you tell me when I asked last night?"_

_Liz swallowed nervously. "I thought you might tell Kyle or Valenti. Or Max. And I knew that…"_

"_They'd never agree?" Tess nodded slowly. "I see your point." She ran a hand through her hair absently. "If this works, if we survive it, they're all going to be furious that we did it without telling them. Max especially." She didn't say what she was really thinking, that this could potentially ruin Max and Liz's relationship. They had been slowly falling apart lately, and although Tess knew that they could recover from almost anything, she wasn't sure if they could recover from this._

_Not that she would ever say that out loud. _

_But Liz understood what Tess had implied. "I know," she said softly, her voice filled with quiet determination. "But it's Alex."_

_Tess gave Liz a piercing look. This could be the end of the human's relationship with Max. Then, Tess realized with a start, it could be the end of _her_ relationship with Max._

"_Please, Tess," Liz whispered. "You're the only one who can do this."_

_The repercussions could be disastrous. But, as Liz had said, this was Alex. This was a chance to save him, and it might be there only chance. No matter how much she did not want to do this, she couldn't walk away._

"_You have to be quick," Tess said suddenly. Liz frowned, not understanding the comment. "The Seeker is stronger than I am, and I am already power-drained from fighting Khivar. You have to be quick, get the answers quickly, because I don't know how long I can hold him off."_

_Liz nodded, relief flooding her as she realized that Tess was agreeing to the plan. She pocketed the device again and said, "Don't worry. I won't let him kill you. I promise."_

Liz placed the device on the floor by the door. "You won't be able to use your powers," she said softly, glancing at the Seeker. "And you can't turn this off either." She gave the Seeker once last apologetic look, then pulled Tess through the door and closed it shut behind her.

"You should be able to use your powers now," she said to Tess. "Lock the door."

Tess reached out with one hand and melted the doorknob, effectively locking the Seeker in the backroom of the Crashdown. Then she turned to Liz and opened her mouth to say something, but Liz was looking at the door, a pain-filled look in her eyes.

"He lost his daughter," Liz murmured. "He just wanted justice…" She didn't say it, but the unspoken accusation hung in the air between them, that the Seeker deserved _justice_, that killing Ava would have been permissible.

Tess raised an eyebrow. "You think he's right? He should have killed me?"

"I think he has a grievance against Ava, not you," Liz replied, dodging the actual question.

Tess was silent for a moment, then she said, "He didn't want justice, he wanted revenge."

Liz shrugged. "Don't you think he has a right to it?"

Tess didn't answer. She tried to imagine what she would do if someone killed Kyle or Jim, and she found that the fury boiled in her blood at the very thought. If the situation had been reversed, she would have wanted revenge as well.

And she would have had a right to it.

But there was nothing to say to that, so instead, she simply shrug and pointed out, "Someone has to call Max and the others and tell them what happened. What we did…"

Liz reached for her cell phone and muttered, "This is going to be a fun conversation."

* * *

Perhaps the only lesson we can learn from the Book of Job is that life isn't fair, that bad things happen to good people, and sometimes, try as you might, you can find no good reason for it.

* * *

Author's note: Remember that device that Brody has in Off the Menu? The one that prevented Max and Tess from using her powers? Well, Michael had been attacked by it when Brody first came to Roswell at the beginning of Season Two (I don't remember the exact episode), so I figured that the group (minus Tess and Kyle, who weren't really part of the group at that point) would have known about it. 


	21. Right and Wrong

Title: Providence

Disclaimer: I don't own anything

Author's note: So, I was not wild about the way this chapter turned out, and it ended up mostly being a transition between last chapter and the next one. But there are a few important moments in here, so hopefully it won't be too boring.

* * *

Right, Wrong, and All The Things In Between

The wrong thing for the right reasons is still the wrong thing. The right thing for the wrong reasons is still the right thing. The wrong thing for the right reasons is still better than the wrong thing for the wrong reasons, and the right thing for the wrong reasons is still worse than the right thing for the right reasons.

Try saying that ten times fast.

Right and wrong are opposites. Antonyms. Parallel but conflicting ideas.

There is always a right choice. The thing is, sometimes in war, the right choice is no longer the opposite of the wrong one.

* * *

"You what? Are you out of your mind? How could you do something that stupid? You could have gotten yourself killed!" Maria practically screeched as she stared at Liz in absolute horror. "What if you had died, huh? What if you had died and Tess had died and Khivar had still possessed Alex? Did you think about what would happen if you failed? Did you think at all?" Maria sank into the booth across from Liz and rested her head in her hands. And came to the conclusion that she had very stupid friends.

Michael's response was quieter than Maria's, which came as a surprise to Tess. He was supposed to be the loud and reckless one, the one who had no control over his emotions. But when he spoke, his voice was calm and controlled, albeit slightly clipped.

"You should have spoken to us first," Michael said, directing the comment to Tess as he sat down next to Maria and rested a reassuring hand on her shoulder. She of all people should understand the importance of working in a group.

"You would have said no," Tess pointed out dryly, her gaze flickering over to Max. He was staring at her, tawny eyes narrowed into thin slits.

"Of course we would have said no," Michael replied with a shrug. "It was a reckless and stupid idea."

"You know, Michael, _you_ shouldn't be giving me a lecture on avoiding reckless and stupid ideas," Tess shot back, the corners of her lips quirking into a thin smile.

"Do you think this is funny?" Isabel asked. She had remained silent until then, and that was not much of a surprise. She wasn't one to jump into an argument until she had most of the facts. But now she was angry, and she was directing that anger at Tess.

"No," Tess said, quickly backtracking. "I just… look, the idea worked, okay? It might have been stupid, but it worked. Right now, we should focus on that."

"You got lucky," Isabel spat. "You got lucky, and you were an idiot."

"Leave her alone, Isabel," Liz spoke up, directing attention back to herself. "It wasn't Tess' idea, it was mine. You want to blame anyone, blame me."

"Fine," Isabel snapped. "You were irresponsible and stupid."

Kyle watched the anger that flashed briefly through Tess' eyes at Isabel comment and wondered to himself when Tess and Liz had become such good friends. But, he realized a moment later, it wasn't that they were friends, it was simply that they were for once on the same side of the issue.

"We can discuss how stupid they were later," Kyle said finally. "Right now, shouldn't we do something about the… what did he call himself? The Seeker?"

"And what exactly would we do? We don't know anything about him, and right now he is trapped in the back room of this diner. What happens if Mr. Parker comes downstairs?" Maria replied pointedly, still glaring at Liz and Tess.

Liz bit her lip nervously and glanced at the door to the backroom. "I didn't think about that," she admitted hesitantly. She had discovered how to save Alex and had successfully kept the Seeker from killing Tess. She hadn't planned ahead for what they would do now.

"I think someone should talk to him," Tess spoke up, slanting another look at Max. She couldn't understand why he had remained quiet this entire time. But the expression on his face, though dark, was still unreadable.

"Talk to him?" Michael asked. "And say what?"

"Well, I'd like to know why exactly he wants me dead," Tess replied dryly. She inclined her head towards Liz and continued, "All Liz was able to discover is that he thinks Ava killed his daughter."

"What more is there to find out?" Kyle questioned. "He thinks you killed his daughter, he wants you dead. Seems pretty clear to me."

"I hate to say it, but I agree with Kyle," Maria muttered under her breath.

"I don't," Tess said bluntly. "Does anyone else find it a rather strange coincidence that he arrives in Roswell around the same time that Khivar possesses Alex?" She glanced over at Kyle as she asked the question, sending him an apologetic glance. Out of everyone here, she knew he was the one most worried about her putting her life in danger, and she hated to contradict him so openly.

"You think the two are related?" Michael asked, rubbing the back of his head thoughtfully. "I guess it's possible." He didn't want to concede the point, but it did make sense. "Perhaps we should talk to him…"

"No."

The one word was sharp and harsh and an instant silence fell over the group as all eyes turned towards Max. The alien king was standing with his arms crossed in front of his chest, his expression threatening anyone who would dare to contradict him.

"Max, if there is more to this than meets the eye…" Liz started, but Max interrupted her.

"I will not have you put your life in danger on some baseless suspicion," Max said coldly. "If there is a relationship between these two events, we will find it. But _I_ will speak to this stranger and _I_ will handle the interrogation and _I_ will make the decisions."

"We're a team, Max," Liz whispered, shocked by his quickly changed demeanor.

"If we were a team, you would have informed someone of what you planned to do before you put your life and Tess' life in danger," Max snapped. He paused, seeing the hurt reflected in Liz's brown eyes, and said in a softer voice, "I don't want you to get hurt. I'm the one who should handle this."

"I wasn't just going to walk into the room and demand answers," Liz defended herself. "And besides, Max, that device that we used will work on you as well. You won't have your powers either."

Max looked at her for a long moment. "I know," he said at last. "But that does not change my decision on this. I will be the one to speak to the Seeker, and I will make the decisions regarding what our next step is."

"Max, stop acting like the king you've never been before," Isabel said angrily, getting to her feet. Although she did not like the idea of questioning the Seeker, she was also annoyed by Max's sudden desire to act like the king. What right did he have to claim that status?

"She's right, Max, this isn't a decision you get to make," Kyle added, instantly supporting Isabel.

Max turned and looked at Isabel and Kyle, his eyes cold and furious. Neither backed away from him, and the silence grew for a moment, stretching thin between the fractured group. Then Max spoke in sharp words.

"Would you prefer to lead, Isabel? Would you like to know that an entire world is waiting for you to come rescue it? That you, and you alone, could very well bring about the end of an entire civilization?"

"You aren't alone, Max. We are trying to help you," Isabel retorted.

"You can help me by not questioning this decision," Max hissed.

Isabel just stared at Max. Finally, she said, "I thought we were in this together, Max. I thought we were a team. Obviously I was wrong." And she turned and walked out of the diner, her angry footsteps echoing on the linoleum floor.

Michael instinctively moved to follow Isabel, then paused, glancing over his shoulder at Maria. She was staring at him, but when he looked at her, she looked away.

"You should go after her," Maria whispered, the words choking as she forced them out of her dry mouth.

Michael stared at her, wanting to say something, but Maria stood up and, pushing past the others, and walked briskly towards the back exit to the diner. A moment later they heard the door open and close shut as Maria stepped into the alley behind the Crashdown.

Michael stared in the direction Maria had gone, then glanced back over his shoulder towards where Isabel had disappeared. Finally he opted to follow Isabel, sparing Max a disdainful look as he did so.

That left Liz, Max, Tess, and Kyle alone in the diner.

"Why won't you trust us to make our own decisions?" Tess asked, drawing Max's attention back to herself. As she stared into Max's eyes, she felt a sudden rush of blood flowing to her head. She somehow knew that Zan was prone to fits of temper, and that she had weathered his storms in her past life many times. For a breath moment as she gazed into Max's furious eyes, she thought she saw Zan looking back at her.

"Trust you?" Max was incredulous, swinging around to face the blonde. "You want me to trust you after you didn't trust me enough to tell me what you were doing?"

"Hey, don't talk to her like that," Kyle snapped, preparing to defend his sister.

"Kyle, Liz, would you give Tess and I a moment alone please?" Max asked through clenched teeth.

"Max, I really don't think…" Liz started, but Tess placed a hand on her arm.

"Liz, you should check on Maria," the hybrid Queen suggested. Her eyes sent Liz a silent message to acquiesce to Max's request, and Liz shrugged and left them. Tess turned to Kyle then, holding his gaze for beat. He gave her a hard stare but finally nodded in agreement and left.

"You want to talk about trust, Max?" Tess breathed in a low voice after she had made sure that both Liz and Kyle were in fact gone. "How can you ask me why I don't trust you when you've never returned the courtesy? You can barely look at me now because you're so damn afraid I'm going to jump your bones? Do you actually think I would do that? You made it perfectly clear that you love Liz and yet I'm still the evil…"

"You mind-warped me when you first got here. You made me see things that weren't there, fantasize about you," Max shot back. "You want me to trust you, you have to earn it."

"I didn't send you all of those fantasies," Tess replied, "and I didn't send you any of the dreams. You came up with those on your own."

"And the others?" Max asked, remembering the incident where he had imagined that he was making out with Tess during their chemistry class. And he could clearly see Liz's hurt face staring at him when she learned that he had seen a flash when he kissed Tess…

"I made a mistake," Tess said slowly, refusing to tear her gaze away from Max's livid face. She wasn't going to back down on this one, not now. "But I would think that all the things I've done in the past year should have earned your trust."

"Oh, you mean like this whole crazy plan of yours," Max replied mockingly, gesturing towards the back room where the Seeker was still being held. "Yes, I see now why I should trust you."

Tess took a step closer towards Max. They were so close she could feel his breath as he inhaled and exhaled She had to tilt her head back slightly to look up at him, but she managed to use every inch of her short height to her advantage and for a moment Max had the strangest sensation that she was towering over him, and not the other way around.

"You do not get to order me around like a subject. You do not get to talk to me like an enemy or an outsider. I am your family, Max, whether you chose to accept that or not, and you do not get to treat me like anything less."

She moved to step past Max, but he caught her arm, forcing her to turn around and look at him.

"I am your King," he retorted.

Tess regarded him quietly, then asked, "And wouldn't that make me your Queen?"

"You were stupid and irresponsible and Ava would have never done anything like that without talking to me first," Max said coldly.

Tess froze, staring up at Max. For a moment, all she could do was stare at him as he looked back at her. Her mouth was suddenly dry, and her mind would not form words into coherent sentences.

At last, she asked rather timidly, "You remember… me?"

Max blinked and gave a sardonic smile. "Of course I remember Ava," he replied. "And Rath and Vilandra. And Zan."

"I thought… I didn't know…" Tess felt a hot burning sensation in her throat and the beginnings of tears sting her eyes, but she forced herself not to cry. Still, the traitorous thought plagued her, if he remembered himself as Zan and her as Ava, then why didn't he love her? Zan had certainly loved Ava.

Max released her arm and stepped away. "I'm trying to be a king, which is what you always wanted me to do. In return, I expect you to act as a queen. Do you honestly think walking into that room with Liz and the Seeker and potentially getting killed was the right thing to do?"

Tess sighed, thinking back to Liz's comment that the Seeker deserved revenge. "I don't know what the right thing is anymore, Max," she replied.

He turned his back on her and walked towards the back room. "You should go," he said without even turning around.

Tess stared at his back, still slightly shocked. Then her thoughts finally kicked in and she said firmly, "No."

Max spun to face her. "Tess…"

Tess interrupted him before he had a chance to order her to leave again. "You wanted me to act like a queen. A queen does not let her king face an enemy alone. If you are going to talk to the Seeker, I am staying here to be with you."

Max hesitated, then nodded slowly. "Fine," he said. "But stay behind me. After all, it is you he wants dead, so you are in more danger than I am."

* * *

"_You're talking to Vilandra?" Sria asked, surprised._

_Ava glanced up at her friend and nodded. "This afternoon. She knows more than she's told anyone, Sria, and I intend to discover what her secrets are."_

"_Do you think she'll tell you?" Sria asked skeptically. If Lonnie had refused to tell even Zan, why would she tell the woman who she claimed to believe was responsible for murder?_

"_A girl is dead," Ava replied. ""She will tell me." Her voice was hard, icy, and Sria wondered what exactly Lonnie had accused Ava of besides the murder. The details of the case were being carefully guarded, but even now rumors were spreading. It was only a matter of time before the entire planet knew what Ava had supposedly done._

_They needed answers._

"_She's already spread lies about you," Sria countered, shaking her head._

_Ava sighed. "What if she doesn't think that they are lies?" Ava pointed out. She was fairly certain that Lonnie had been in touch with Khivar over the past several months… years, maybe. But she was hesitant to believe that Lonnie was actively working against her brother. It seemed much more likely that Khivar was playing the Princess for his own ends. _

"_Let me come with you," Sria requested. "I don't like the idea of you going to talk to her alone."_

_Ava rolled her eyes. "She's hardly going to attack me, Sria. I am perfectly safe."_

_Sria raised an eyebrow skeptically. "Physically, perhaps," she conceded, "but she may attack you verbally. This is an emotional subject for both of you, and it might be a good idea to have an impartial observer to make sure the conversation stays on track. Obviously General Rath and King Zan aren't impartial, but I…"_

"_No, Sria," Ava cut into the plea, shaking her head. "I need to talk to her alone. And I can control my emotions. It is just a conversation."_

"_Don't be a fool," Sria snapped. "You know perfectly well that I am right about this, and you're just too proud to admit it." She crossed her arms over her chest and glared at Ava._

_Ava spun around and stood up. "Sria, this isn't your decision."_

_Sria tilted her head to the side and said pointedly, "And I could easily make it so that it isn't your decision either."_

"_Oh?" Ava asked suspiciously._

"_I wonder what your rather over-protective husband would say to my request?" Sria asked with a smirk. Adopting a deferential tone, she continued, "My Lord, I am concerned about the Queen. This is a stressful situation for her, and perhaps it would be better if someone accompanied her when she speaks to the Princess? Just to make sure that she doesn't get too upset?" Her eyes darted back to Ava. "What do you think his response would be to that?" _

_Ava narrowed her eyes dangerously. "Do you actually think _my husband_ would order _me_ to allow you to come?" Ava demanded._

"_He would if I pointed out that stress and emotional distress are not good for the baby," Sria replied calmly, gesturing towards Ava's slightly rotund stomach._

"_I am not going to get stressed enough to…" Ava stopped sentence with an angry huff of exasperation. She knew perfectly well that Zan would do anything and everything necessary to keep his child safe. If Sria went to Zan with this… She groaned and sat down. "Fine, you win," she grumbled. "You may come." She stared at her reflection in the mirror for a moment, then said, "But just so you know, I really hate you right now."_

"_Okay," Sria consented with a shrug. She took a seat next to Ava on the bed. "But I am right about stress not being good for the baby," she added._

_Ava nodded. "I suppose," she reluctantly agreed. "And, of course, you are the type of person who would use that against me…"_

"_You can be a stubborn idiot sometimes,' Sria said unabashedly. "And I'm your best friend. It's my job to knock some sense into you when you're being a fool."_


	22. Words

Title: Providence

Disclaimer: I don't own anything

Author's note: Sorry about the delay on this chapter, I know it's been forever since my last update. I made this chapter longer to make up for taking so long to get it posted. Just another thing I want to clear up; Tess, Max, Michael, and Isabel only remember part of their lives on Antar, bits and pieces and flashes. Not the whole thing.

* * *

Chapter Twenty-Two: Words

When you hurt someone's feelings, you apologize. When you want someone to agree with your opinions, you try to convince them with explanations and arguments. When you want someone to do something for you, you ask them with polite language. Or you beg, threaten, or exhort.

Either way, you use words.

Go back to the half-empty, half-full glass, and to the bunch of lemons that life has given to you. What you call something determines how you interpret it. Is it half-empty, is it half-full? Is it lemons or lemonade?

What you say is so incredibly important. Words are so much more than just groupings of letters strong together to convey an idea.

You know the saying, sticks and stones can break my bones but words will never hurt me? That is one hundred percent completely and totally not true.

Sticks and stones _can_ break bones, but words can shatter a soul, break a family apart, send a society into panic and fear, turn people against each other, destroy even the strongest bonds.

And, of course, they can heal.

* * *

_Vilandra sat on the bed, the covers pulled tightly around her body. Her long hair fell in loose curls, shadowing her features. Dark circles accentuated the pale skin under her eyes and her lips were pressed together in a thin line._

_She looked up when Sria and Ava entered, her eyes narrowing slightly at the Queen, but she said nothing. Her gaze never left Ava's face, however._

"_Good morning," Ava said pleasantly, feeling it was probably best if she started the conversation. It didn't look as though Vilandra was going to willingly be the first to speak._

_Vilandra raised an eyebrow and offered Ava half a smirk. "I suppose that depends on who you ask," she said pointedly. Zan had requested that she remain within her quarters until he deemed it was safe for her to wander the palace again. He had told her that, with Lessa's death, he had come to the realization that even his own well guarded home was not completely safe, and he was concerned about her safety. She was under no delusions about his actual motives, and she knew perfectly well she was under house arrest._

"_Yes, well, I thought it would be a good idea to get to the bottom of this mystery before the rumors do any more damage," Ava said quickly._

_Vilandra stood abruptly, the covers falling away from her. She smoothed a hand over her dress to press out all the wrinkles and replied sardonically, "Oh, yes, of course. We wouldn't want any more damage, would we?"_

"_I don't think Lessa would," Ava said softly._

_Vilandra's eyes flashed dangerously. Ava studied her expression for a moment, trying to understand what thoughts were moving behind through the Princess' mind. But when Vilandra spoke, her voice was soft and even, and her emotions carefully controlled. _

"_I'm not entirely sure I can help you control any of the… damage. Perhaps you should speak to your husband?"_

_Something in the way she said the word husband caused Sria to look sharply at the Princess. Ava heard it as well, and slanted a quick look at Sria. But the other woman had no insights to shed on the subject._

_Ava turned back to Vilandra. "I didn't kill Lessa," she said bluntly._

"_I don't believe you," Vilandra replied just as bluntly._

"_Why would I kill her?" Ava demanded heatedly. "Why would I want her dead?"_

"_I don't know," Vilandra replied with a shrug. "Why were you standing over her dead body?" She turned away from Ava, as though the answer to the question didn't even concern her that much, but Ava could see from the tense line of the Princess' shoulders that she was still very much interested in what Ava had to say._

"_I went for a walk. I stumbled across her body. I didn't know she was there until I saw her, Vilandra. And I didn't kill her."_

_Vilandra was silent. She seemed to be weighing her options for a moment, then she turned around again to face Ava. "Give me one good reason why I should believe you?" she asked softly, her voice venomous._

"_Give me one good reason why you shouldn't!" Ava shot back angrily._

"_Because your alibi is pathetic," Vilandra replied. "You just happened to stumble across her dead body?" She rolled her pretty eyes and sat back down on the bed. "Anyone should be able to come up with something better."_

"_It's true," Ava replied through clenched teeth. "It's not a lie, Vilandra." When the other woman didn't reply, Ava clenched her hands into fists and said, "I would never kill a defenseless woman. Especially not someone who looked to me for protection!" Her voice rose in anger, and Sria quickly placed a hand on her shoulder, silently reminding her not to lose her temper._

_Ava swallowed and nodded to show that she understood. She ran a hand over her stomach and gestured for Sria to say something. She was suddenly too tired to think up the next question._

_Sria sighed and stepped forward. "Look, we just want to figure out how Lessa died. And if you know anything…?"_

_Vilandra pulled her knees into her chest and stared at Ava thoughtfully. When she finally spoke, her words were acerbic and her tone was drenched with bitterness. "I know that you think I got her killed somehow. I know that you think I am trying to frame you. I know that Zan doesn't trust me, and I think Rath doesn't either. I know that you don't trust me. So why exactly do you expect me to trust you?"_

"_I do trust you," Ava said quickly._

_Vilandra laughed. The sound echoed in the room. It was neither cheerful nor light._

"_I'm not a fool and I'm not oblivious, Ava, so please don't treat me like it."_

"_Could have fooled me," Ava muttered under her breath. So far, Vilandra wasn't offering any information. But Lessa was dead, and Ava was certain that the Princess knew more than she was saying. And she wasn't going to leave until she had some answers._

"_What's that supposed to me?" Vilandra spat._

"_You believe Khivar, don't you?" Ava replied, deciding to go with the more direct approach. She might as well show Vilandra her hand because she wasn't getting anywhere by being circumspect. "You trust him, you're working for him. You believe all of his lies." Her words were angry, and Vilandra regarded her curiously._

"_What are you talking about?" she asked innocently._

"_Why did Lessa think I was having an affair with Khivar?" Ava demanded._

_Sria stared at her friend in shock, her face registering the surprise of those words. So that was the other accusation that was bothering the Queen at the moment._

"_Maybe she walked in on the two of you…" Vilandra suggested, her smile turning into a malicious smirk._

_Ava narrowed her eyes in fury, but managed to keep her temper. "Let me outline a scenario for you," she said quietly, "and you can tell me how accurate it is." She fixed her gaze on Vilandra's face and continued, "Kivar tells you to tell Lessa that I'm having an affair with him. She is then instructed to confront me about it. She does, I deny it, and Kivar has someone kill her. Her body is left in the gardens for me to find, and you just happen to conveniently be standing right there, ready to catch me." She tilted her head to the side and asked harshly, "How am I doing so far?"_

"_You missed the part were I kill my own brother and take his place as ruler, launch an attack on all the other planets, and eventually become Queen of the Universe," Vilandra replied derisively. Her eyes flicked down to Ava's round stomach and she asked wickedly, "In this scenario of yours, whose baby is that?"_

"_How dare you?" Ava spat, her face flushed crimson with embarrassment and fury. "Don't you ever speak to me like that! You are out of line!" _

_Sria took a quick step towards her friend, intent on calming her before she lost complete control and said or did anything she would regret. _

"_I beg your pardon… _your Majesty_."_

_It was the utter loathing and scorn that Vilandra managed to fit into the last two words of her apology that caused Ava to get her emotions under control more than Sria's calming influence. In all the years they had known each other, Vilandra had never once called Ava by her title when they were in private. In public, they both referred to each other by their designations, but in private they were friends, and Vilandra had always called her Ava._

"_What happened, Lonnie?" Ava asked gently. "When did we stop being friends?"_

_Vilandra flinched at the sound of her nickname and gave Ava a hard stare. "When did Zan and Rath stop trusting me, Ava? When did they think I was too emotional to be taken seriously? When did you start agreeing with them?"_

_Ava hesitated, contemplating the question. When had things changed? Zan had become suspicious of Vilandra's activities months ago, but even before that he had been reluctant to confide in her. There had been a point, she knew, when Zan sought his sister's opinion on political matters as frequently as he sought anyone else's. When did that all change?_

_Again, the Queen shifted her gaze back to Vilandra. Before you had a reason not to trust her, a little voice whispered in Ava's mind. And it was true. No one had ever put it into words, but for months before they had any reason to be suspicious of her, they had stopped trusting her. Without proof, and without talking to Vilandra._

_She thought back to the conversation she had overheard between Zan and Rath several months ago. Zan had not trusted Vilandra, and Rath had argued with him, but in the end hadn't Rath given in? Hadn't he agreed? And hadn't he done it without talking to his betrothed?_

_It was no reason for Vilandra to betray them, but perhaps it explained why she didn't believe Ava now. And it might explain why she was so willing to believe anything Khivar told her… assuming that Ava was right about her assumptions._

"_Zan thinks you're working with Khivar. I think Rath does as well, although he doesn't believe it is fully your fault," Ava said finally. She glanced over at Sria pensively and remarked, "Sria doesn't trust you, although I'm not sure where she stands on the issue of you and Khivar." She sighed, and turned her gaze back to Vilandra. "And I think you're working with Khivar, but I don't think you're trying to betray us," she finished._

_Vilandra gave her a confused look, but remained silent. Sria, too, said nothing, just stared at Ava impassively._

"_I have never had an affair with Khivar, nor do I plan on it," Ava continued. "I did not kill Lessa either, and I would never have done that. But Lessa did confront me about my alleged affair, and although she refused to say where the information came from, I can only assume it came from you because I do not think she would have believed anyone else. My suspicions also come from the fact that it was you who suggested that she become a lady-in-waiting despite the fact that I did not need any more."_

_Vilandra flicked a few strands of hair out of her eyes. She didn't contest Ava's statement, but neither did she confirm it. Her lips parted slightly, as though was going to say something, but no words came out._

"_Zan is worried. Khivar is a serious threat to his rule. He is a good speaker and he can work a crowd into a frenzy. He has a strong following, and he has raided many cities and towns. He manipulates situations to fit his own plan, Vilandra, and he does the same with people. He's dangerous. I think that you are working with him, and I think that you may believe you are in love with him. Be careful. He's not who you think he is."_

_Vilandra didn't protest the statement, and Ava wondered suddenly if the Princess had her own suspicions about how dangerous Khivar was._

_Gesturing for Sria to follow her, Ava walked towards the door. At the door, she paused and looked back at Vilandra. "I don't trust you," she said again, her words blunt and to the point. "Lately, you haven't given me a reason to." Her gaze flickered to Sria, and then back to the confused Princess. "But then, to be fair, I don't suppose I've given you much of a reason to trust me." She hesitated again, considering her words carefully. "I've told you all I know, and it isn't much. But it is, to the best of my knowledge, the truth. What you do with that information is up to you." And she left the room, ushering Sria out, and closing the door behind her._

* * *

Max paused in front of the door and stared at it for a moment. Once he stepped into that room, he would not be able to use his powers against the Seeker, and neither would Tess. It seemed unlikely that the strange man would be able to overpower both of them, but should he manage to get far enough away from the device, he could pose a serious threat… 

He glanced over his shoulder. "Are you sure you want to do this?" he asked quickly, eyes fixing Tess with a serious stare.

Tess swallowed nervously, but put on a brave face. "We need answers, Max," she declared.

Max nodded, pulled together his resolve, and pushed open the door.

The Seeker was standing with his back to them, staring at the far wall. He made no move to turn around when they entered, gave no indication that he was even aware of their presence. But Tess was fairly certain that he knew she was there, and she stayed behind Max, not wanting to put herself in harm's way.

"What's your name?" Max asked authoritatively, deciding to be the first to speak.

The man turned and gave Max a cold glare. "I don't really think I care to share that information with you…" His eyes moved to Tess, and his stare became positively glacial. "…or _her_."

"We don't know why you want Tess dead," Max said simply, watching the Seeker worriedly. "We don't remember much of that life." It was never a good idea to walk into a situation without knowing the details of what you were facing, but at this point they didn't really have a choice. They had no cards in their hand, and Max figured they might as well admit to that.

"That is not my concern," the Seeker replied with a shrug. "_I_ remember that life. That is all that matters to me."

"What did I do?" Tess asked desperately. Her fragments of memories and feelings did not reveal anything about the crime this man was accusing her of. But that didn't necessarily mean she didn't do it…

"You killed my daughter," the Seeker replied, his voice so filled with loathing that Tess took a step backwards and Max reached out a protective hand towards her. "You killed her because you thought she was a threat. You couldn't possibly understand that she would _never_ have betrayed you."

"What happened? Why did I think she was going to be a threat?" Tess pressed, hoping eagerly for answers.

The Seeker shrugged. "She knew something about you. I don't know what it was. She didn't tell me. But it was apparently damaging enough…" He drifted off and stared at Tess thoughtfully. "You just killed her."

Max shot Tess a questioning look, but she shook her head, indicating that she didn't remember any of this. She liked to believe that she was a decent person who would never just murder and innocent girl in cold blood, but she wasn't sure. For all she knew, Ava might have done exactly what the Seeker was claiming.

The Seeker did not notice the look that passed between Max and Tess. He was lost in his own thoughts, staring off into space as he remembered his daughter's beautiful smile and musical laughter. "I guess Vilandra wasn't the only traitor in the family if your wife was so willing to murder and innocent…"

Max didn't say anything.

"I'm sorry," Tess murmured. That caught the Seeker's attention, and he snapped his eyes up to her face. Tess flushed and repeated, "I'm sorry. For your loss. And my role in it… whatever it may be. I really am… sorry."

"Sorry doesn't bring my daughter back," the Seeker said coldly. Inside he was seething. He was seething that he was here being interrogated by the clueless King and Queen, and he was seething that he had allowed himself to be tricked by a stupid human girl. But mostly, he was seething because it now appeared that Lessa's death would never be avenged.

"Did Khivar agree to help you kill Tess?" Max demanded, his voice ringing with authority. His eyes were blazing with anger and his entire stance exuded power. A flicker of something moved through his eyes, so quickly that the Seeker almost missed it.

Almost, but not quite.

He registered the emotion and recognized it for what it was. Bits and pieces of Zan were emerging in this human hybrid, struggling to push away the lock he had firmly clamped down on his alien half. He frowned at that, but didn't answer Max's question. He was in no mood to be helpful.

"Answer me!" Max ordered.

The Seeker leered at him. "Or you'll what? Kill me? You don't have the guts." He was fairly certain about that statement. After watching the Royals for a few days, he had come to the conclusion that none of them had the ability to purposefully kill someone.

"How would you know?" Max replied threateningly, taking a step closer to the Seeker.

But the Seeker refused to back down. He smiled at Max, a cruel smile that twisted the features of his face, instantly transforming him from grieving father to malicious enemy. "It's obvious. You're pathetic. All of you are. None of you have the guts to kill me."

Max stared at the Seeker, a curious expression on his face. Then he asked in a low voice, "Are you sure about that?"

"Of course," the Seeker replied derisively. "None of you have the guts to kill anyone!"

Max crossed his arms over his chest triumphantly. Tess slanted a confused look at him, she didn't understand why he was suddenly so sure that he had won the argument. But he looked confident, and she wanted to believe that he was right about that confidence.

"Then why are you trying to kill Tess?" Max asked softly.

"Because she murdered my daughter!" the Seeker exploded. How many times would he have to repeat that before they all understood his motives? Were they really so incredibly dense that they couldn't comprehend the plight of a grieving father?

"No," Max countered, "Ava murdered your daughter. But you just informed me that none of us, Tess included, had the guts to kill. So doesn't it necessarily follow that if Ava could kill and Tess can not, they are not the same person?"

This had been Zan's strongest skill, Tess remembered with a start. Twisting someone's words around to fill his own purpose. Get people to admit that they agreed with him before they even realized what they were saying. It was what had made him a good diplomat and a particularly skilled leader.

The Seeker remained silent, but fury leapt into his eyes at Max's statement. His face, already flushed red, turned an even darker shade of crimson. His fingers curled into fists, his knuckles turning white as he clenched tightly. His jaw stiffened, and Max had the strange sensation that this man was attempting to keep himself from physically attacking his two enemies.

"Did you work with Khivar? Did he tell you to come now?" Max repeated, changing the subject quickly.

The Seeker again said nothing, still refusing to answer the question. But his silence revealed more than any denial he could have given.

"How do you know Khivar isn't just using you for his own ends?" Max pressed, turning away from the Seeker and walking back across the room towards Tess. His eyes met Tess; briefly, and she was staring at him with an unreadable expression. Before he had a chance to dwell on it, however, she had turned her attention back to the Seeker, and the strange look in her eyes was gone.

The Seeker, meanwhile, was weighing Max's words. It was true that Khivar had lied to him, sent him after the wrong hybrid version of the Queen. And he was fairly certain that Khivar was simply planning on using him as a scapegoat. The skin king would accomplish whatever he came here to do, then leave the Seeker to take the fall once the Intergalactic Council realized that something had happened.

But did he care? He never had any reason to expect to live after killing the Queen. Not until he had met Nicolas, the skin had offered him protection. Who cared if Nicolas and Khviar had lied? Prior to their plans, he had been content to die. That had not changed. Without Lessa, he wasn't sure there was much to live for anyway.

"I am here for one purpose and one only," the Seeker said at last. He nodded at Tess. "I want her dead. The only way you are going to stop me is to kill me, and if you can't do that much, you might as well just give up now, because you won't be able to stop Khivar either."

Leaning against the wall, Max turned to Tess and whispered, "What do you think?"

"He's not going to tell us anything," Tess replied quietly. "But from all the things he hasn't said, it's pretty obvious he has some relationship with Khviar. And he appears to be suicidal. Doesn't care if he lives or dies."

"I wonder what Lessa was like… to inspire such… love?" Max mused.

"All people love their children," Tess countered. It wasn't strictly true, of course, but for the point of the argument, it was effective enough. Max nodded in acquiescence.

"I suppose," he agreed. He considered all the things that the Seeker had said, and all the things he hadn't said, and sighed in frustration. He honestly wasn't sure what he was supposed to do now. They couldn't keep him in the room indefinitely, Mr. Parker would notice at some point. They couldn't let him go, he'd continue to plot Tess' death.

"We have to let him go, Max," Tess said suddenly. "We don't have a choice. We can't keep him here."

Max nodded thoughtfully. "You and Liz couldn't have led him out to the pod chamber? Captured him there?" he asked petulantly.

"We weren't sure it would work," Tess muttered defensively. "Did you want to have the two of us dead and our enemy have access to the Granolith?"

"If you weren't sure it would work, you shouldn't have done it," Max replied with a pointed glare.

Tess shrugged. "Sometimes you have to take a risk."

"But that risk should always be logically and rationally weighed against the possible accomplishments," Max countered. "And it should be discussed with other people, especially those who may be affected by it. And when you make a plan to engage in a battle of any type, you should have at least a vague idea of what you exit strategy will be."

"I know," Tess spat angrily. "I'm sorry, alright? I wasn't thinking."

The Seeker listened to the exchange interestedly. It was barely audible, but he managed to pick up on the major details. So the King hadn't agreed to the plan beforehand. That was interesting. From everything Lessa had said about Ava, the Queen was not someone who would just leap into a crazy plan without first running it by her husband, her brother-in-law, or her best friend. This hybrid was much more impulsive.

"We're going to leave," Max said abruptly, drawing the Seeker out of his reverie. "And we'll take the device with us, the one that is stopping your powers. You'll be free to go."

"You're releasing me?" the Seeker spat. "Are you insane?"

"I'd like to believe someday you'll realize I'm not Ava, and I _am_ sorry for whatever she did," Tess spoke up with a shrug.

"I wouldn't count on it," the Seeker snapped. "Letting me go is stupid."

Tess nodded. "I suppose it is," she agreed. Then she and Max turned and left the room, and the Seeker stared after them with a contemplative expression on his face.

* * *

Maria paced back and forth along the ground, listening to the sound of her footsteps as her sneakers scuffed the gravel. The alley was empty and silent, and she wanted nothing more than to completely disappear into that silence. Michael, she was fairly certain, had followed Isabel out of the diner. It made sense, she knew, because Isabel was still hurting from what Max had said, and she would need someone to talk to. But part of Maria also knew it meant something else, something having to do with her own relationship with Michael. 

It shouldn't be a surprise, though, should it? After all, hadn't she known this was coming?

"Why wasn't I willing to believe it?" Maria wondered to herself, her words soft and choked with the tears she refused to let fall. "I knew… I knew that he…" she didn't finish the thought. Even alone, she couldn't put it into words.

She was afraid if she did it would come true.

And yet, hadn't it already come true?

Michael was drifting away from her, no matter how hard she tried to stop it. She'd lost him, and if she held on longer, if she continued to fight, she'd only ruin everything even more.

"But how can I give up?" she breathed.

"You know, hanging out in an alley talking to yourself is the first sign of insanity."

Maria jumped and turned around to find Liz standing in the doorway of the Crashdown, staring at her. Her friend offered a sad smile, but Maria couldn't even bring herself to mutter a greeting.

"Max and Tess were going at it, and Max asked Kyle and I to leave," Liz said, taking a few steps towards Maria.

"So you just left?" Maria asked, incredulous. She couldn't imagine Max ordering Liz from the room. They were supposed to be together, they were in love. Soul mates.

Or was that relationship over as well?

Liz hesitated, then nodded. "Well, Tess asked me to also. I think they wanted to argue alone…" She let the sentence drift, then admitted contritely, "I stuck around in the back and eavesdropped on the conversation."

Maria raised an eyebrow.

Liz shrugged. "Max was really angry at Tess, but it wasn't her fault. It was my idea, and I just wanted to make sure that… if he said anything that wasn't okay with me, I could… defend her, I guess." She ran a hand through her hair and thought over her words. When she first met Tess, she hated the idea of leaving the blonde alien alone with Max because she didn't trust the newcomer not to mind-warp her boyfriend. Now, she was afraid to leave Tess alone with Max because she wasn't sure she trusted her boyfriend to be fair.

The irony of that was not lost on her.

Maria considered this, then asked, "Who won the argument?"

"Honestly? I'm not sure," Liz replied. "They just went to talk to the… Seeker a moment ago."

"And Michael… he went after Isabel?" Maria asked, trying to sound nonchalant.

Liz gave her a shrewd stare and answered, "Yes, he did. Isabel was upset."

"It's ending, isn't it?" Maria said suddenly, staring hard at Liz. "Michael and I… we're ending."

"Of course not," Liz said heatedly. "You two have hit a few snags, but that doesn't mean it's over. He loves you and…"

"Don't," Maria interrupted her. She gave Liz a long look, then continued, "I don't want you to be the comforting best friend right now. I want… I _need_ an honest answer. I keep clinging to Michael because I love him, but… it's not enough, is it? We're not… we're not going to get through this. We're not going to make it."

Liz swallowed the lump that formed in her throat and forced a shaky answer, "Maria, I don't…"

"Honesty, Liz. I _need_ honesty."

Liz nodded. "He loves Isabel," she said at last. Maria nodded and turned away, heartbroken.

* * *

"_Let her go," Ava said without preamble as she entered Zan's chambers. Her husband looked up, surprised at the comment, and she elaborated, "You have Lonnie under house arrest. Let her go."_

"_What did she tell you?" Zan asked curiously, holding out a hand to his wife. She took a few steps towards him, and he placed his palm on her stomach, and felt the baby kick._

"_Nothing," Ava replied._

_Zan appeared startled, but nodded slowly. "And you want me to just let her go? With all the rumors going around right now…"_

"_She knows something, Zan. She knows a lot, actually. But she doesn't trust you because you don't trust her. Interrogate her, ask her questions, demand answers, and she'll never trust you again. But right now, she's still your sister, and she would never purposefully hurt you. Show her that you know that, that you trust her, and she might tell us what she knows. It's the only way."_

"_I don't like it," Zan said bluntly. Ava's idea had it's merits, but it had drawbacks as well._

"_Trust me," Ava begged softly._

_Zan looked at Ava seriously, searching her face for something. Ava wasn't sure whether or not he found it, and it made her wonder about their relationship. It had been strained severely over the past several hours. Lessa's death had slid its way in between them, pulling them apart, and at this point in time, she had no idea whether or not Zan trusted her. Or Vilandra._

_But Zan offered her a smile and said finally, "Always."_


	23. Those Who Betray

Title: Providence

Disclaimer: I don't own anything

Author's note: So… it's been a while, hasn't it? Sorry about the delay. The beginning of this chapter is a reference to Dante's _Inferno_. It's a classic that everyone is supposed to read but very few people actually do. Basically, it's a poetic description of hell.

Also, in response to a question I had, the flashbacks at the beginning and ending of the chapters are just there to give some insight into the past, none of the hybrids are actually remembering any of these details. As of right now, they still don't know anything about their lives on Antar or what happened to Lessa or even who Lessa was.

* * *

_Previously…_

"_We're going to leave," Max said abruptly, drawing the Seeker out of his reverie. "And we'll take the device with us, the one that is stopping your powers. You'll be free to go."_

"_You're releasing me?" the Seeker spat. "Are you insane?"_

"_I'd like to believe someday you'll realize I'm not Ava, and I am sorry for whatever she did," Tess spoke up with a shrug._

"_I wouldn't count on it," the Seeker snapped. "Letting me go is stupid."_

_Tess nodded. "I suppose it is," she agreed. Then she and Max turned and left the room, and the Seeker stared after them with a contemplative expression on his face._

* * *

Chapter Twenty-Three: Those Who Betray

There are nine levels of hell, nine circles that lead deeper and deeper, increasing retribution for increasing sins.

The First Circle: punishment for the virtuous pagans, they did not accept Christianity, but they are not technically sinners.

The Second Circle: a penalty for lust.

The Third Circle: the gluttons, who in life wanted more and more material goods, here are disciplined for their sins.

The Four, Fifth, and Sixth Circles: filled with the miserly and the prodigal, the wrathful and sullen, the heretics, respectively.

The Seventh Circle: the violent receive retribution. There are three types of violence; against others, against one's self, against God. They're all here, trapped in this circle for eternity.

The Eighth Circle: fraud. Here are the people who knowingly and purposefully commit acts of evil. Seducers and false prophets, thieves, hypocrites, counterfeiters and bad corrupt politicians, and liars.

Eight circles down, one to go.

The ninth circle, that last level of hell, houses Lucifer himself. The devil, or Satan, or whatever else you want to call him, has three heads. Each head has a mouth, and each mouth is chewing on a different sinner, tearing away the flesh and condemning them to eternal agony.

In the center mouth, is Judas Iscariot, accused of betraying Jesus to the Romans, allowing the Son of God to be crucified.

Whether you are Christian or not, whether you believe in hell or not, whether you've ever read Dante's _Inferno_ or not, it is still interesting to think about this punishment. The last level of hell, the deepest, the darkest, trapped in the vicious center mouth of the devil himself… But Judas is not the only one in that circle. He has the worst punishment, but he is joined by many others; Brutus, Cassius, Cain, Antenor, Satan himself…

The worst place in hell is not for those who kill, who steal, who lie, who spread rumors and sow discord, who commit adultery, who deny the true God.

The ninth circle is reserved for those who betray.

* * *

_It was snowing._

_Rath frowned at the white flakes that fell from the sky, covering the ground. It was late for snow, but the ground was now covered in a thick blanket, almost up to his knees._

_He didn't like the snow. It was cold and wet and white._

_He didn't like the color white._

"_Rath?"_

_He spun around quickly at the sound of his name, annoyed that he had not heard the other person approach. Then his eyes settled on the woman before him, and his face lost all expression._

"_Vilandra," he said with a polite nod._

_Vilandra stared at him, her eyes reflecting her own hesitation and concern. Her long hair was pulled away from her face into a braid, but a few strands escaped and whipped around in the wind. She was wearing a dark green dress, and it was dotted with tiny white flakes that melted into water almost as soon as they landed on the fabric._

"_Can we talk?" she asked. The conversation with Ava had unnerved her, and she knew that there were things she needed to say. Things she needed Rath to hear._

_Rath nodded. "Of course. Shall we go inside?" He was getting wet, and he did not like the snow._

"_I'd rather stay out here," Vilandra replied. She preferred the outside. The snow blanketed their voices, they couldn't be overheard. It was cold, but she didn't mind. She was focused on more pressing concerns._

"_As you wish," Rath said emotionlessly. He didn't know what she had to say, didn't know if he wanted to hear it._

* * *

"Do you remember when we stood in that cave after first coming out of the pods?" 

Isabel looked up in surprise. She had been sitting on the edge of her bed, staring blankly at the wall. Only a few hours had passed since her argument with Max, and although Michael had tried his best to comfort her, it had been to know avail. He had given up finally, and left her alone, and lost in her own thoughts, she had not heard the sound of approaching footsteps.

Max was leaning against the doorframe, staring at her with a thoughtful gaze.

Isabel nodded. "Yes," she murmured. They'd been so alone and so afraid.

"You reached out your hand to me, and I took it," Max continued. "We were alone, and I was scared, but you were there, and I knew that, with you, I wouldn't be lost."

Isabel blinked and replied hoarsely, "You were singing a different tune this afternoon."

Max hesitated, unsure if he should enter the room. Opting for a compromise, he took two steps into the room, but not any closer to Isabel, and ran a hand wearily through his messy hair. Choosing his words carefully, he replied, "I was upset. It doesn't excuse what I said, but I was upset… and confused. And angry."

"And so you decided to take your anger out on me?" Isabel demanded. She lifted bloodshot eyes and stared at Max, shaking her head slowly in disbelief.

For a moment, a strange emotion flickered through Max's eyes. Then he sighed and said, "Isabel, the reason I took my anger out on you was because you were the person I was mad at."

A silence greeted his words, then Isabel raised an eyebrow and asked, "Me? Why?"

Max shrugged. "You and Michael take great pains to remind me that I am the king and it is my responsibility to lead and fix the problems and…" Max shrugged. "And then when I make a choice, you get mad about it. Do you want me to lead or not?" His voice was tinged with exasperation.

"Of course I want you to lead. But only if you're going to do it well, and you haven't been doing that," Isabel snapped, her words angry. "Besides, you say you don't want all the pressure of being a king, and in the same breath demand that I follow your orders."

Max swallowed and nodded. "I know. I haven't been very good at this. And… I don't want all the pressure of being a king. But I just… Isabel, I don't know what to do. I don't know how to do this, and I am trying so hard to figure it out, and I _need_ you to be on my side."

"I am on your side," Isabel shot back, face flushed red. She remembered all to well first hearing about a time when she wasn't on her brother's side, when she betrayed him. She would never do that now. She _wasn't_ Vilandra.

"Are you?" Max murmured. Seeing the hurt in Isabel's eyes, he rushed to say, "I'm not accusing you of betraying me. I know that you wouldn't ever sell me out to Khivar."

"Then what are you accusing me of?" Isabel demanded, lowering her voice until it was barely more than a whisper and narrowing her pretty eyes at her brother.

"Being just as hypocritical as I am," Max replied with a shrug. Isabel didn't reply, and he pressed, "We're in this together, Izzy, and I need you to be supportive of me even when I screw up. I need to know that you'll always forgive me for my mistakes."

"Why should I?" Isabel asked, one eyebrow raised defiantly.

"Because I'm your brother," Max replied simply. "And because you know I would never purposefully hurt you." What better reason was there than that?

Isabel bit her lip and nodded slowly. She studied her brother's face. His eyes were almost bloodshot, and she could see the darkened circles under his eyes. She thought of his slowly failing relationship with Liz, of the Seeker and Khivar, of the knowledge that he was responsible for all their fates.

"I'll always eventually forgive you," she replied honestly, "no matter how angry I am at the time." She lapsed into a thoughtful silence, then added, "But I really wish you to have the answers."

Max gave a dark chuckle. "I don't," he replied. "But believe me, I wish I did too." Deciding it was safe to come closer, he walked over to Isabel and slid onto the bed next to her. "We let the Seeker go," he added, slanting a look at her to see her reaction.

Isabel was silent for a moment, thinking. Finally, she shrugged and said, "You didn't really have a choice, did you?"

"No," Max agreed. He closed his eyes for a moment, then asked hesitantly, "Did Michael walk you home? I know he left to find you…"

Isabel smiled slightly, and then her expression went blank. "Yes," she said, almost reluctantly. "He did." He'd caught up with her before she reached her house, and wrapped his arms around her, pulling her into a hug. They'd stood like that, on the street, just leaning against each other. She'd felt better, more calm, with him there, but something was eating away at her, twisting red-hot in her stomach.

Max tilted his head to the side and said, "There's nothing to feel guilty about."

Isabel gave him a sharp look, then sighed. She should have known better than to expect Max to not understand what she was feeling. After all, he was probably going through a similar situation with Tess.

"I… when I'm around Michael… things just _fit_. We fit." Isabel ran a hand through her hair. "I kept telling myself that it was just because we were such good friends. For ten years, it was just the three of us, of course I would feel close to Michael. But… it's different now. It feels…" She let the sentence drift, unable to put her feelings into words.

"Right and wrong and confusing and scary?" Max supplied with a slight grin.

Isabel nodded. "I also… I feel like I'm betraying Maria and Alex. And, in some way, both of us. Didn't we always say that destiny was… well, wrong?"

"Yes," Max answered. "But we only said it was wrong if it was forced on us."

Isabel shook her head. "So it's okay if we choose it?" she asked skeptically. "It's not as easy as all that Max. There's just so much else thrown into the mix, and I…" A far away look came into her eyes. The thing she feared the most was that giving into her feelings for Michael would be the same as declaring that she truly was Vilandra. And if she did that, would history repeat itself? Would she end up betraying them all again, condemning them to death at the hands on their sworn enemy?

Max, once again correctly interpreting the expression on Isabel's face, said softly, "Even if you are on Vilandra, and even if I am Zan, it doesn't mean that history will happen again. Because you are still Isabel and I'm still Max, and I trust you."

And Zan trusted Vilandra. Isabel didn't say it out loud, but the thought came to mind, and she thought of Alex, and how she hadn't realized that it was Khivar, or that she had realized it, but convinced herself that she was mistaken. She'd betrayed Alex, hadn't she, not seeing that he wasn't himself? Was she just doomed to betray those she loved over and over?

It was a question without an answer, and she rested her heads in her hands and wondered what she was supposed to do now.

* * *

The Seeker sat on the bench and stared up at the brilliantly blue sky. He replayed the conversation with the hybrid King over and over in his mind, and had come to the conclusion that life was not as black and white as he had once convinced himself it was. 

This new Queen was not Ava. Killing her would be wrong.

Killing her would not bring Lessa back to life.

Killing her would not get justice for the crime.

He wasn't even sure it would get revenge.

But Lessa was dead, so why should Ava have a second chance at life? Why should she get to breathe the air and feel the heat of the sun and experience the joys and sorrows of life? He wanted revenge, his entire life had been focused towards that ultimate goal, and he refused to part with it now.

Lessa was innocent, and Ava was not, and this hybrid had some of Ava in her.

But was it enough? Was revenge against the alien half a legitimate reason to kill the human half?

And if he didn't seek revenge, wasn't he then just betraying Lessa? Wasn't he declaring that the human part of this hybrid girl was more important than his own daughter, his flesh and blood? She was the only thing that mattered to him, the only thing that had ever mattered since her mother's death, and how was he supposed to just let go?

Besides, the king had a point about Khivar. The skin had betrayed him, and why should he help Khivar with him plans? They both had a similar goal, and there was a time when the Seeker would have willingly taken the fall for all of Khviar's crimes, if only it assured that Ava would die and Lessa would be avenged. But now…

Nothing was quite as black and white.

They had let him go. They had given him back his powers and let him go, and now he was free to kill them if he wanted. They had known it was a stupid idea, and they did it anyway, because they couldn't kill him.

If he killed them now, he unfairly punished their human halves. If he didn't kill Ava, he betrayed Lessa.

And Lessa was his entire world.

What was he supposed to do?

What would Lessa want him to do?

* * *

"_I didn't kill Lessa," Vilandra declared. Rath stared at her and didn't say anything, so she continued, "And I don't know who did. I never knew of a plan to kill her. I thought… I truly believed that Ava had done it."_

"_You're proclaiming your innocence?" Rath asked, and he couldn't quite keep the skepticism out of his voice._

"_No…" Vilandra faltered. "I'm saying that I am innocent of _that_ crime."_

"_What crimes have you committed?" Rath asked, not wanting to hear the answer. He wished she was speaking with Zan instead. Zan would know what to say._

"_I fell in love with Khivar," Vilandra said, and the words tumbled out of her mouth before she could think about what she was saying and why she was saying it._

_Rath went pale and averted his gaze. The silence between them was tense, stretched almost to its breaking point. Rath's hands were clenched into fists, his knuckles white as the snow that fell from the sky, settling around them._

"_It was an accident, I didn't mean for it to happen. I heard him speak once, and then I ran into him… I didn't go looking for him, and he didn't go looking for me. I just… we just… I didn't mean to…" Vilandra stared hard at Rath, wishing he would speak, wishing he would show some emotion, but he refused. His face was blank, his eyes cold and dark._

_Vilandra turned away._

"_I told him things about us," she murmured. "Secrets. I… helped him."_

"_Why?" Rath spat, the word echoing viciously in the air._

"_Because I believed him," Vilandra replied honestly. "Because I believed that he truly wanted what was best for Antar. Because he would talk about politics and government and the future with me, and you wouldn't."_

_Rath narrowed his eyes. "Do you still believe him?" he asked bitterly._

_Vilandra hesitated. "I don't know," she said at last. "Ava thinks he is responsible for Lessa's death, and if he is…" She didn't finished the sentence._

_Rath reached out and caught Vilandra by the arm, his grip tight. "Why are you telling me this?" he demanded, his voice grating and harsh._

_Vilandra struggled for the right words to explain her motives. "I don't know who to believe anymore, but I know I… I haven't given you a reason to trust me. I want to change that. I want to… I… love you."_

"_You love Khivar," Rath spat, dropping her arm._

_Vilandra nodded. "But not like I love you," she replied, and she knew it was the truth._

_Rath shook his head. "That's not enough, Princess," he said quietly. "You've betrayed us all, and you can't simply say you love me and expect everything to be okay again." He turned away. "If you've fallen in love with Khviar, I can't love you."_

_Tears pricked at Vilandra's eyes, and she tried to grab at Rath's elbow to keep him from leaving. He shook free of her grasp and started to walk away._

"_Rath, I'm sorry," Vilandra cried out, dropping to her knees in the snow. "Please," she begged. "Don't leave me." Tears slid down her face, flooding her pale skin._

_Rath gave her a fleeting look. "I didn't leave you," he said. "You left me."_

"_Rath… no! I love you. I'm sorry, I'm so sorry. I just wanted to… I didn't know who to believe. Rath, please believe me. I didn't want to hurt you, I was just trying to do the right thing. I was confused, I was… Rath… I didn't… I'm sorry, I never meant… I didn't want… Rath, please, I love you, please don't… Please don't leave me."_

_But her words were lost in the swirling snow, and Rath had already walked away._

* * *

Why is betrayal the worst possible crime one can commit? Why do traitors end up in the ninth circle of hell? I've heard many different explanations, but only a few really made sense to me. 

Betrayal is, by definition, a violation of trust. Humans cannot exist without some kind of order and government. And all order and government is founded on one of two possible themes; fear or trust. Sometimes trust is mixed with skepticism and anger and a little bit of fear. But the trust must be there, because if we base out lives on fear alone, we fall apart. Each human life, though precious to the individual, is actually insignificant in the greater scheme of things. It is fleeting, how can eighty years compare to eternity? One person is only one person, and there are billions of people in the world. But overall human life, the ability of our species to survive and to protect and propagate the values that we hold dear, that is _everything_.

Or, another possibility is that betrayal breaks the bonds of love. And the ability to love is the greatest gift we have. We love our family members despite their flaws because we are all flawed and they are still family. We value the lives of our friends because we care for them and they care for us. We uphold our country's laws because we believe that, for the most part, breaking them will hurt others. We try, to the best of our abilities, to help others, because that is what we are taught to do. But, in the end, it all boils down to one simple theme: we protect ourselves, our friends, our country, our species because we are taught to protect that which we love. Betrayal, more than any other crime, goes against this love, tears apart that which holds us together, that which we value so much.

Betrayal is a violation of love or of trust. Or maybe both.

And after all, don't all sins have some small element of betrayal in them?

Either way, the reason betrayal is the worst of all possible crimes is that is breaks the bonds that hold us together, and a single act of betrayal has the ability to destroy us all.


	24. Veritas Vos Liberabit

Title: Providence

Disclaimer: I don't own anything

Author's note: So, I have an Alex POV in this chapter. And, unlike every other time I've referred to Alex in this story, this time it is really Alex, and not Khivar-Alex. It occurred to me at some point that this story hasn't really given any insights into Alex's thoughts on everything that is happening, so I decided to add a bit about him.

* * *

Chapter Twenty-Four: Veritas Vos Liberabit

So, when George Washington was a little boy, he took an axe and went and cut down his father's cherry tree. Oddly enough, this particular fable doesn't say whey he cut down his father's tree, just that he did it. Kind of makes you wonder why he would have gone to all that trouble just to cut down a tree…

But I digress.

George Washington's father sees the tree and said to his sons, "Who has cut down my cherry tree?"

And little George Washington said, "I cannot tell a lie. I did it." Which, of course, makes you wonder why he would have secretly cut down a cherry tree if he knew he was going to confess to it as soon as his father asked.

But, anyway…

George Washington's father said, "Oh, okay then. Well, since you told the truth, I'm not going to be angry with you. In fact, I'm going to praise you for admitting to the truth. And apparently this also means that I am going to forget about the fact that you cut down the tree in the first place."

So, the moral of this story? Don't lie.

And, apparently, as long as you tell the truth, you can get away with anything.

Because that makes sense.

* * *

Alex POV

It's different then I thought it would be, having them discover the truth. I thought that, as soon as someone figured out that I wasn't really me, they'd come racing to the rescue, and I'd be set free. But they've known for a while now, and they haven't done anything.

Being possessed is… odd. It's like floating above yourself, watching your own body interact with everyone else, completely unable to do anything about it. And, at the same time, it's like sitting alone, trapped in dark blackness, an expanse of nothing that stretches out forever and cuts you off from the real world. I see through my own eyes, but they're not my eyes anymore.

Tess got through once. For just a moment, we stood next to each other in this blackness, and I could almost reach out to touch her hand. But she faded away, and I slipped into nothingness, and I don't… I don't understand anymore.

I don't understand why I'm still here.

I mean, I do understand it. Logically. I know that they can't rescue me without risking my death, and my death is not something they're going to risk. So they're still trying to come up with other ways of saving me, and it's difficult, and it takes time, and there is still that strange guy out there who wants to kill Tess.

I get why I'm still stuck here.

Doesn't mean I have to like it.

When the truth came out, flashing lights and crashes of symbols, everything was illuminated. And for a moment, I was supposed to be saved. Max was supposed to kill Khivar and rescue me, and Isabel was supposed to collapse into tears of relief and profess her undying love, and Liz and Maria were supposed to fling their arms around me and tell me they'd never let anything happen to me ever again.

At least, that's how I thought it would happen.

The truth was supposed to set me free.

It didn't.

I'm still here.

And Isabel… Isabel isn't mine anymore. I guess she never really was mine, but I've only just started to understand. It's the nice thing about being trapped inside your own mind, you have a lot of time to reflect and grow.

Isabel fell for me when I was really Khivar. I see that now, and I should have seen it before. She loves me, but she's not in love with me. She doesn't have the same passion for me that I have for her. Maybe it was because she never let herself get close to anyone, that when I pierced her cold exterior, I thought it meant that she felt something special for me.

Maybe she does feel something special for me.

Whatever it is, it isn't undying love.

Life isn't a fairytale. We don't get out happily ever after, and love isn't some 'head-over-heels, soul mates 'till the end of time, falling at first-sight' sort of thing. It's up and down and difficult and painful and… just plain hard.

I guess I should feel lucky that I avoided that hardship.

And yet, I don't.

But I've recognized the truth, I've seen it and understood it and accepted it. As much as I don't want to face reality, I know I must, and so I have. I've seen the truth.

Shouldn't I be free now?

* * *

Kyle POV

"Let me get this straight," Kyle said quietly as he took a seat next to Tess on the sofa in their living room. "This crazy guy wants to kill you and you decide to _talk_ to him?" He shook his head in despair. _She's insane. I wonder if she realizes that she's an idiot?_

Tess pulled her knees into her chest and regarded Kyle with a scrutinizing look. "Well, Max decided to talk to him. I just… went with the flow," she said at last.

Kyle opened his mouth to reply, then shut it and looked away. After everything Tess had been through lately, he didn't want to yell at her, but he was frustrated that she'd walked into danger again. _Why can't she just stay safe?_

"I just don't like the idea of you being in danger," he said at last, not sure what else to say.

"I know, but I had to be there for Max," Tess replied simply.

Kyle ran a hand through his hair and sighed. _Of course. Everything's always about helping the Royal Four._ When he glanced back at Tess, she was looking towards the window, her mind on other thoughts. He almost asked her what she was thinking, then changed his mind and stood up.

Tess looked at him sharply. "Are you okay?" she asked.

"Yes." _No. I don't know. Maybe_. Kyle offered a smile, which Tess returned somewhat reluctantly. "I'll be in the kitchen if you need me." _Although I don't know why you would…_

* * *

Liz POV

"Max? Everything okay?" Liz leaned back against the wall and held the phone to her ear. After talking to Maria in the alleyway, she'd gone back up to her room. Maria had wanted to be alone, and Liz, knowing there wasn't much she could do to help her friend, allowed the blonde to leave.

She'd spent the rest of the day reading and writing in her journal, and the time had passed somewhat quickly. She wasn't sure what had happened with the Seeker, but she trusted that if there was a problem, Max would have told her. He wouldn't just leave a potentially dangerous alien in the diner without warning anyone.

And then the phone rang, and she'd seen Max's name on the I.D. and a thousand worries rushed through her mind.

It must have shown in her voice, because Max rushed to assure her, "Everything's okay, Liz. I'm just calling to see how you're doing."

"Oh. Okay. I'm good. Everything's fine. Just great, actually." Liz cringed inwardly. _And now I sound like an idiot. _

"I wanted to talk about earlier. About… everything that happened," Max's voice floated towards her through the wires of the phone.

Liz closed her eyes and nodded, knowing Max couldn't see the gesture. "Look, Max," she said softly, "I know that you're upset about my decision, and maybe I should have talked to you first." _Although we both know you wouldn't have let me do it._ "But I don't regret going through with the plan. And neither does Tess." _I think…_

"I know." Max's voice was tinged with regret and resignation. "Liz, I know you were just trying to help, to keep us all alive, to protect Tess."

Liz held her breath, wondering what else Max was going to say. She hadn't expected him to be this forgiving. She wondered what had happened between him and the Seeker, and who else he had spoken to since then.

"And I'm not upset that you created this plan and went through with it. I'm not even that upset that you did it without telling me." Max paused, then corrected himself, "Well, I am annoyed about that, but I understand why you did."

"Then what are you upset about?" Liz asked quietly. He'd been furious at her earlier this afternoon and if it wasn't for either of those two things then she had no idea why.

"I just… I was scared something might have happened to you… or Tess. Everything's out of control right now and I'm… worried."

Liz considered this for a moment. Max had so much to deal with right now, and she understood why he wouldn't want to have to worry about her as well. Maybe she should have told him her plan before going through with it. Maybe… but maybe not. This was Alex, and if Max wanted her to play it safe, she wasn't going to listen to him. Not when Alex was in danger.

"I don't want you to get hurt, Liz," Max added.

_You can't protect me from everything. Just like you couldn't protect Alex. _ Liz rubbed her eyes and replied warily, "I know, Max. I'm sorry that… I'm sorry that all of this is happening right now."

"Me, too," Max agreed with a dark laugh. He paused, then continued, "We're going to fix this, Liz. Isabel's going to get through to Alex, she's going to… she's going to get him back."

_And what if we lose her in the process? We both know that's not a trade you'd be willing to make._ "I know," Liz replied with false optimism. She didn't know, didn't feel more reassured. They were out of control and for the first time since all of this started, Liz was beginning to doubt that being brought back to life had really been in her own best interests. Could she live with herself if Khivar killed Alex, knowing that she was the one who had dragged him into this mess?

"Liz…" Max hesitated, his voice floating slowly over the phone lines. "I shouldn't have said the things I did… I shouldn't have gotten so angry at you. But… our meeting this afternoon, it made me realize that I can't… we can't…" He didn't finish the sentence.

"Can't what?" Liz pressed, her heart beating frantically in her chest.

She heard the sound of Max exhaling sharply, then he said, "We can't be together."

_Why not?_ "Why not?"

"Because I'm not… I'm not being fair to you. I'm not… me… anymore. I'm… I'm trying to be a king and you… you're…you're a…" Again, Max let the sentence drift.

_A what, Max? A distraction? A problem? What am I?_ Liz counted to ten silently, trying to control her rapidly growing frustration and fear. She didn't want to break up with him, but he was breaking up with her, and how was she supposed to stop that?

"I love you," Max said.

Liz shook her head. She knew there was more he wanted to say, more he wanted to explain, but that he couldn't find the way to say it. She could hear it in the silence that now stretched between them, she could practically sense his thoughts churning.

The only thing she could console herself with was that he wasn't confessing his undying love for Tess.

"I think we should take a break," Max said at last, his voice firm. "We can… reevaluate where we stand once this whole crisis is over."

Liz swallowed back her own tears. "Okay," she said faintly. "We can take a break."

"I love you," Max said again, and then the line went dead. Liz stared at the phone, unable to comprehend what had just happened, unable to understand.

* * *

Maria POV

Maria stared at the door of Michael's apartment, wanting nothing more than to turn around and walk the other way. But she'd worked up the courage to get this far, and she knew she needed to go through with it. She needed to do this now, before she lost all strength and willpower.

She raised her hand and knocked.

A moment later, Michael opened the door. He seemed surprised to see her there, but quickly covered and opened the door wider. "Come in," he said.

Maria shook her head. "No, actually, I just… need to talk to you quickly." She didn't want to go into the room. If she went into the apartment, who knew what would happen.

Michael raised an eyebrow. "Is everything okay?" he demanded gruffly.

_My best friend is currently possessed by Max's sworn enemy and you're in love with Isabel and you're asking me if everything is okay?_ "Nobody's hurt or anything," Maria replied. She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and looked up at Michael with a very serious expression. "Michael, I…" _love you, have always loved you, always will love you. _"…think we should break up."

Michael stared at her, his face registering no emotion. She knew he was surprised by her words, and for a moment, no one said anything as they each tried to come up with a proper response to the silence.

"Look, if this is about earlier, when I went to comfort Isabel…" Michael started with a groan of frustration.

"It's not," Maria interrupted. "It's… just that I guess I'm finally seeing what you and Isabel are both apparently oblivious to. You love her." _I see it in the way you look at her. It's the way you used to look at me when you thought no one was watching. Only now, you stare at her like that no matter who else is there to see you._

"No, I don't," Michael objected, but his words weren't filled with the same force she'd heard a year ago when they first discovered their destinies.

Maria laughed, but it was tinged with sadness. "Yes, you do. You love her, and I… I don't want to be the one who ruins that."

"Maria…"

Maria smiled and shook her head, a few stray tears slipping from her eyes and falling down her cheeks. She knew that Michael would recognize the truth in her words sooner or later, and she knew that she had to break up with him now, before everything fell apart between them.

"Sh," she whispered, placing a finger on Michael's lips to forestall any comment he might make.

"I don't want… I don't want you to not be there anymore…" Michael said at last, stumbling through the words, still shocked by the content of the conversation.

"I love you so much," Maria replied. _And I don't want to be doing this. But it's for the best. We both know that._ "You're still one of my best friends and I'm not… I'm not going to leave you just because we aren't dating. We're still friends."

"Still friends," Michael echoed, but the words sounded hollow, and caught in his throat.

Maria nodded, stood up on her tiptoes, and pressed a quick kiss into Michael's cheek. "Still friends." Then she turned, and without another word, walked away.

* * *

Veritas vos liberabit. That's Latin. It means "the truth will set you free."

The saying's not actually true. Neither is the fable about George Washington (which is why it is a fable and not a real story.)

Then there is this idea that if you confess the truth, your guilt no longer eats away at you. That probably is true. You probably do feel a little better, a little less guilty.

But you still have to deal with the repercussions of your words. The anger, the broken hearts, the bitter words, the resentment, and whatever else might result from it. Confessing has its drawbacks.

I'm not condoning lying. It's just… well, be careful when you tell the truth. Sometimes it doesn't always set you free.


	25. Going Forward, Going Backward

Title: Providence

Disclaimer: I don't own anything

Author's note: So, you ever start writing and then all of sudden the story takes control of itself and things you really didn't mean to have happen fill up the page? And you're very confused at the end because you hadn't planned for this, and you don't know what to do next? Well, that's what happened with this chapter. So... when you finish reading the chapter, if you have any ideas about what the characters should do to solve the problem that arises near the end of this segment, and if you feel like sharing them... You know where the review button is.

Once again, if I refer to Alex, it is really Khivar in Alex's body, and not Alex himself who is speaking.

* * *

Chapter Twenty-Five: Going Forward, Going Backward

Isabel knocked on the door and waited patiently for an answer. She wasn't entirely sure what she was doing here of all places, but something told her that this was where she would find her answers. It was the day after the argument, after the Seeker had been released, after she and Max had tried to mend their crumbling relationship, after they'd discovered how to truly beat Khivar.

A moment later, the door swung open to reveal a tired looking Kyle. He frowned at the sight of Isabel, but opened the door wider and gestured for her to enter the room.

"Thanks," Isabel said graciously, stepping past Kyle and glancing into the living room. Tess was sitting on the couch, a book open on her lap. Jim was standing in the doorway of the kitchen, clearly wondering who was at the door. Upon seeing Isabel, he raised an eyebrow curiously.

"Everything okay?" Tess asked instantly, closing her book and looking up at Isabel.

Isabel nodded. "Yeah, everything's fine," she replied. "I just… well, I was hoping to talk to you."

Tess' eyes widened disbelievingly, but she nodded and stood up. "We can go into Kyle's room," she said, gesturing towards the hallway behind her. Isabel followed, and the two girls made their way out of the living room.

As they entered the room, it occurred to Isabel that Tess had been living at the Valentis' home, in Kyle's room, for almost a year. And she still referred to it as _Kyle's_ room, not her own.

Tess sat down on the bed. Isabel hesitated for a moment, glancing at the desk chair, then opted to stand instead. She leaned against the wall near the door and folded her arms over her chest, wondering what to say, how to start the conversation.

"About yesterday…" she said finally, and Tess sighed.

"Look, Isabel, I'm sorry that we didn't tell you about the plan ahead of time. But I'm not sorry for going through with it. It worked. Liz and I made it work."

Isabel waved away the apology with a shake of her head. "I'm not upset about that." She paused, then corrected herself, and said, "Well, I am upset about that, but that's not what I wanted to talk about."

"Okay," Tess answered, clearly confused.

"I wanted to talk about what the Seeker told you and Liz," Isabel explained, chewing her bottom lip thoughtfully.

Tess accepted this answer in silence, although she was less than thrilled by the explanation. Even Isabel admitted that the information they had discovered was useful, yet she still managed to be upset with Liz and Tess for getting it.

"What about it?" Tess pressed, knowing perfectly well what Isabel wanted to talk about.

Isabel rolled her eyes. "We know how to kick Khivar out of Alex's body." As she said the words, her entire body slumped forward slightly, her eyes downcast, almost as though she had already accepted defeat in this matter.

"I would have thought you'd be happy about it," Tess said softly, her voice acerbic.

"What if I can't do it?" Isabel asked, ignoring Tess' comment. She glanced at the smaller girl, then away, her gaze traveling to the window. The sun was shinning brightly, rays of light filtering through the glass and landing on the floor and the desk.

Tess tilted her head to the side, considering the answer. Part of her didn't feel particularly sympathetic towards Isabel's dilemma. After all, the hybrid Princess hadn't been understanding of Tess' own concerns lately… or ever. On the other hand, Isabel was facing a very dangerous and difficult task, and Tess knew it would be incredibly stupid to send her into that fight with any doubts.

"Why don't you think you can do it?" Tess said at last, settling for a noncommittal answer.

"Because it's Khivar and I…" Isabel shook her head and waved a hand, trying to articulate her own fears. "I'm not Vilandra, but I'm not sure I won't become her."

"Why do you think you'll become her?" Tess asked softly.

Isabel gave a bitter laugh and replied, "Because I've already betrayed Alex by falling for him when he was really Khivar. Because I'm having feelings for Michael. Because… because I can feel her inside of me and I…" She shook her head and didn't finish the sentence.

"Why did you come to me?" Tess questioned. At Isabel's confused look, she elaborated, "Max and Michael would have both jumped to reassure you that you aren't going to betray us. They would have told you that you wouldn't become Vilandra."

Isabel nodded. "Yes, but they would have told me that no matter what they actually thought. You'll tell me the truth." As she said the words, she knew they were true, and she understood why she had come to Tess for help. Tess would tell her the truth, Tess wouldn't lie to her.

Tess stared down at her hands, wondering what to say. Isabel was right, she would most certainly try to tell Isabel the truth. But what was the truth? Did she trust that Isabel was strong enough? She wasn't sure, and she knew that she needed an actual answer.

Isabel, correctly interpreting Tess' silence, said despondently, "You think I might be a threat." She looked away quickly, unable to meet Tess' eyes, and added, more to herself than to the other hybrid, "Congresswoman Whitaker told me that I fell in love with Khivar. That I betrayed you all. And now I'm going to do it again."

Tess frowned for a moment, thinking. Then she asked, "Why did you save me from Whitaker?"

"What?" Isabel turned back to Tess in confusion. "What do you mean?"

"You barely knew me, and at that point, none of you really, truly trusted me. So why did you risk your life to save me?" Tess explained.

"Because you needed my help," Isabel replied. "And I was willing to take the risk and try to save you." She raised an eyebrow at Tess, clearly unsure of where this conversation was going. But Tess seemed to be lost in thought, and didn't notice Isabel's confused look.

Finally, Tess said, "Well, Alex needs your help now."

"It isn't that simple," Isabel objected, but Tess just shook her head.

"Actually, it really is," the petite blonde countered. "Alex needs your help. Do I think you might revert into Vilandra? Yes, it is a definite possibility. Do I think you might end up being a threat to all of us? Of course. But Alex needs your help, you are the only one that can save him, and that's a risk we all have to take. If you turn, we'll come up with a way to save you. If you betray us, we'll deal with that problem when it happens. But this is our only shot, Alex's only chance, and in the end, it really is that simple."

Isabel stared at Tess for a long time, silently contemplating her words. Finally, she said, "I think what you and Liz did was incredibly stupid. You should have told us first. But… we should have trusted you. And I… I shouldn't have been so hard on you about destiny and everything. I shouldn't have stopped being your friend after I found out that you were really one of us."

Tess gave Isabel a hard stare, trying to gauge the sincerity in her words. She could see the honest sorrow in Isabel's eyes, but it was tinged with something else. Frustration, fear? It took Tess a moment to realize that it was simple hard for Isabel to admit that she might have been wrong about something.

Because the fact of the matter was that she wasn't completely wrong about it. They'd both been wrong, they'd both done stupid things. It was time to accept that and move on, or they'd have no chance of defeating Khivar and the Seeker. And then Alex would never be saved.

"It was stupid," Tess agreed at last. "And I should have talked to you guys about it first. And… I shouldn't have been so hard on your for wanting a normal life."

"So, what now?" Isabel questioned.

Tess shook her head. "I don't know."

Isabel turned her attention back to the window, thinking. Outside the room, she could hear footsteps in the hall, the heavy tread of Jim's boots as he walked back towards his room. The faint sounds of the television floated through the air, Kyle must have decided to watch a movie.

Kyle and Jim… that last two people on the face of the planet that she would have ever expected to invite a random girl into their house and make her family. But Michael was the last person she thought she'd start falling for, and two years ago Liz and Maria were the last two girls she would have imagined could be her friends. And Alex was the last person they all expected to get so deeply thrown into this mess.

Life, she decided, was very strange sometimes.

"I don't know," Isabel admitted.

"It's just… too much has happened for us to ignore it. It's going to take time before…" Tess waved a hand, failing to finish the sentence.

"We can really be friends again?" Isabel finished. "I know."

Tess bit her lip, trying to think of something else to say.

"Maybe we should just… start over? Build the friendship that way?" Isabel suggested. Tess widened her eyes at the suggestion, and Isabel took a few steps forward, sticking out her hand. "Hi, I'm Isabel Evans."

Tess stared at Isabel's face, then down at her hand. Hesitantly, she reached out and shook Isabel's hand. "Tess Harding. It's nice to meet you."

* * *

"You broke up with Michael?" Liz asked, holding the phone next to her ear as she stared blankly at the wall in front of her. That was the last thing she expected to hear from Maria, and she couldn't help but wonder why her best friend would give in so easily. 

"I had to," Maria sighed. "He wasn't in love with me anymore, and I knew that."

Liz shifted the phone and sat down on her bed. The mattress gave way slightly under her weight. Running a hand through her hair, she asked, "Are you okay?"

There was a silence while Maria contemplated the question, then she answered, "No, I don't think I am. But I will be." Again, there was a pause, then she added, "I don't want to lose Michael's friendship. So maybe… maybe we just needed to go back to the beginning, before we were dating. When we…"

"Hated each other?" Liz suggested with a small smile. Michael and Maria hadn't really been friends before they started dating. Instead, they'd had one fight after another, and somehow ended up in this bizarre, out-of-control, love-hate relationship.

"Sure," Maria agreed. "At least that way we can move forward. Maybe be friends."

Liz nodded, even though she knew Maria wouldn't be able to see the action. She had originally called Maria to tell her about the conversation with Max, but now she wasn't entirely sure if it was fair to bring that up. Maria had just broken up with someone she still loved, was it a good idea to add to her worry by telling her this?

However, it didn't really matter what Liz decided, because Maria, sensing that something was wrong, asked shrewdly, "So, how are things with you and Max? I mean… after that fight yesterday…"

"He broke up with me," Liz choked out, fighting back the helplessness she was feeling.

"What? Why?" Maria demanded, outraged.

"He said he was too worried about me getting hurt right now, and that it wasn't fair to me for him to still hold onto me while he's changing… because he has to be a king right now… and things are complicated and he doesn't feel like himself anymore," Liz explained. "He said… he said he loves me, and we should reevaluate after this crisis is over." She couldn't keep the tears away anymore, and they slipped out of her eyes and down her cheeks.

"Oh, chica…" Maria murmured. She let out a slow breath and continued, "Things will work out between the two of you. I know they will."

But Liz thought of the times she'd seen Max staring at Tess when he thought no one else was watching, remembered his commanding tone and the direct orders he had issued during the argument the day before, recalled his words that he was _changing_…

And she found she couldn't be as optimistic as Maria.

* * *

Maria stormed into the main room of the Crashdown and looked around, her gaze finally settling on Max. Without pausing to think about what she would say to the alien king when she confronted him, she marched up to his table and demanded icily, "What the hell were you thinking?" 

Max was sitting with Isabel, and both of them looked up in surprise. Isabel's pretty eyes narrowed slightly as she looked from Maria to her brother, wondering what this was all about. Max's gaze quickly flew to Liz, who was working in a different section of the diner. The brunette waitress looked up at Maria's outburst and met Max's stare, her face instantly flushing deep crimson in embarrassment.

Maria, oblivious to all this, continued with her rant, "You broke up with Liz? What the hell is wrong with you?"

Isabel's attention snapped to Max. "You broke up with Liz?" she asked, surprised. No one had mentioned that to her, but it must have been a new development. She wondered vaguely when it had happened and why Max had initiated that decision.

"First you yell at her and go all _'Royal King'_ on us and now you break up with her because things are too _complicated_ right now?" Maria spat, her voice dripping with sarcasm. "Things wouldn't be complicated if you'd stop being such a jerk."

Liz hurried towards her irate best friend, silently thanking God that the diner was almost empty. There were only a few students from Roswell High School, sitting in the far corner of the other section, and an old married couple near the front.

"Maria, calm down," Liz whispered, placing a hand on her friend's arm.

"Calm down?" Maria echoed, turning towards Liz. "Why? If you won't stand up for yourself, Lizzie, I will."

"Liz and I talked about this and she understands," Max said firmly, finally finding his voice. "And we haven't broken up, we're just… on a break."

"You really think Liz understands?" Maria shot back with a bitter chuckle. "You are do full of it. The way Liz tells the story, you didn't actually discuss it. You just dictated to her. Told her how things were going to be. What gives you the right?"

"Maria, please don't do this here," Liz begged, her eyes traveling to the other occupants of the diner who were now watching the exchange.

Small red patches of anger had appeared on Max's cheeks, and he glared at Maria as he replied, "What gives you the right to tell me who I should or shouldn't date?" He lowered his voice and said in a cold whisper, "Is this really about me and Liz? Or are you just upset about you and Michael?"

That caught Isabel's attention, and she turned wide eyes to Maria. "What happened between you and Michael?" she asked, half-wondering whether or not she actually wanted the answer.

"Newsflash, Max, I broke up with Michael, not the other way around," Maria sneered. "Why? Did he tell you he was the one who initiated it?"

"Maria, please!" Liz cried again, trying to stop the conversation before it spun out of control.

"No," Max answered with a smirk. "He told me that you broke up with him because you realized he wasn't in love with you anymore."

"When did this happen?" Isabel murmured, placing a hand on Max's arm to get his attention. "When did you talk to Michael?"

"They broke up last night," Max answered, turning his gaze to Isabel. "Michael told me this morning."

Liz glanced at Isabel, trying to read her expression. She wondered quietly whether or not the other girl was excited about the possibility of Michael being available. She knew that Michael had feelings for Isabel, and she thought that the feelings might be mutual. But Isabel was supposed to be dating Alex…

That thought made Liz suddenly angry. Was Isabel going to give up on Alex while he was being possessed? Just move on without at least talking to him first? She should give Alex the common curtsey of waiting until he was no longer being controlled by Khivar before moving on to the next guy.

Those thoughts made her furious enough to speak her mind. "Are you going to run to Michael now, Isabel? Just leave Alex while he is in trouble? Guess you didn't care for him that much after all," Liz commented bitterly.

The color drained from Isabel's face.

Max, taking a look at the horror in his sister's eyes, spun back to Liz and said viciously, "That was uncalled for, Liz."

"Why?" Maria cut in. "It's what is going to happen, isn't it? And is that what you want? Isabel to be with Michael so that you can go after Tess and not feel guilty about being such a jerk?"

Out of the corner of her eye, Isabel saw one of the other occupants of the dinner turn and give Max a hard look. It took her a moment to recognize who the boy was, and then she realized that this argument was being overheard by the friend of Kyle's that Tess was supposedly dating. What was his name? Something with an M, maybe? Mark, Mitch… Matt?

"What happened between Liz and I had nothing to do with Tess," Max said calmly, bringing his temper back under control.

"Yeah, right. You know perfectly well that Tess has been waiting for the two of you to break up since the beginning. She's going to jump at this chance to get with you, and we all know it," Maria hissed.

Matt was sitting with a group of his friends, ones that were probably also friends with Kyle and Tess. And all of them were interested in the conversation now.

Isabel, seeing that they had an audience, and remembering that she was trying to be friends with Tess, intervened and said quietly, "Maria, Tess is dating someone else. And she really likes him. I don't think she's going to jump Max right now."

Matt appeared to be relieved at that comment.

"Yeah, right," Maria replied, lowering her voice in frustration. "You know she's just biding her time with whatever-his-name-is until the right moment. She's been pining for Max since she got here."

No one else had noticed that Matt was listening to the conversation. And Isabel, knowing that Maria was not describing Tess in the most flattering light, and that Tess would be very upset if she knew that Matt heard any of this, wanted to stop the argument as soon as possible. She opened her mouth to say something, but stopped almost instantly as something else caught her eye.

Apparently, they had all been too engrossed in their conversation to see the Crashdown door open and another person walk in. But that person had stopped in the entrance way, and upon hearing Maria's last comment, had turned and fled.

Isabel was only able to catch sight of blonde curls and tear-filled blue eyes before the figure was gone, but it was enough to know that Tess had been standing there, and who knew how much of the conversation she'd overheard.

Isabel started to stand up, but Matt was already on his feet, moving towards the door. He'd obviously seen Tess as well. Isabel hesitated, unsure whether or not to go after her friend. Maybe it was better to give Matt a moment to talk to Tess?

All eyes had turned to Isabel when she stood up. Max was the first one to speak up, drawing Isabel's attention to him.

"What is it?"

"It's… Tess. She was right there. She heard… she heard the conversation." Isabel sank back into her seat.

All eyes turned to the door. Matt had already stepped outside, and was scanning the street for signs of Tess. Then he stepped inside the diner and turned to look at his friends.

"She's gone," he said, directing the comment at the other jocks. They all stood up and walked over to join Matt, who turned and glared at Maria, Liz, and Max.

"Come on, let's get out of here," one of the guys said. "You can call Tess on her cell phone." The others nodded their agreement of this plan and left the Crashdown, slamming the door shut behind them.

Maria stared at them, then at Max. Giving a huff of annoyance, she turned and stormed away, leaving through the backdoor. Max stood up stiffly, still angry and upset by the conversation, and turned to look at Isabel. Isabel glanced from Max to Liz, then down at her hands, suddenly tired.

Liz swallowed and reached out to lightly touch Isabel's hand. "I'm sorry," she whispered. "I didn't mean… I know you care about Alex."

"You were right, though," Isabel replied. She lifted her eyes to Liz's face and pointed out, "I am just leaving him. When I think about Michael… I haven't even spoken to Alex, the real Alex, in so long."

"You can't help who you love," Liz countered with a shrug. "And you aren't abandoning Alex. You're going to help him, aren't you? Going to try to save him?"

"Yes," Isabel said firmly. She wouldn't leave Alex, not while he needed her help.

"Then you aren't abandoning him."

"Liz is right," Max added.

Isabel nodded. "It just… it still feels like it." She stood up slowly and stepped out of the booth. "I wish we could go back to the way things were before all of this started."

"You can't ever go back," Liz said wisely. Then she paused, considering something. Finally, she said, "But maybe it would help if you tried to get some sort of closure?"

Isabel frowned at the suggestion. "Maybe," she agreed, somewhat reluctantly. She looked from Max to Liz, then down at the floor. "I'm going to go. I'll see you guys later." And she walked away, her footsteps echoing in the now silent diner.

Liz turned to go, when Max reached out and caught her arm. She looked back at him, raising one eyebrow questioningly.

"Thank you for what you said to Isabel," Max murmured. "She's really…" He gestured with one hand, unable to articulate just how his sister was feeling.

"I know," Liz replied. "And I shouldn't have said that she didn't care about Alex. I know she does. I just… I'm just scared for him."

"I know," Max said softly. "I know." He looked away.

"Where do we stand, Max?" Liz asked, reaching out and pushing a few long strands of hair out of Max's eyes.

Max looked back at her and caught her hand, gently lowering it. "I don't know," he admitted. "I meant what I said earlier, that I love you. I really do. But there are people out there trying to kill us, and I have to lead us, keep us safe. Everything's different, everything's changing… and even though I love you, I don't know if that's enough anymore."

Liz nodded. "Max," she whispered, "thank you." At his confused look, she elaborated, "For being honest." She kissed him lightly on the cheek, and then turned and walked away.

* * *

Tess paused and looked around. The moment she'd left the Crashdown, she'd run, wanting to put as much distance between herself and the diner as physically possibly. She hadn't really paid attention to where she was going, and it took her a moment to figure out her location. She was standing across from one of the grocery stores on Main Street, near to where the Evans lived. 

She blinked once or twice, trying to keep the tears at bay.

Her cell phone rang. It was Matt. She wanted to answer it, wanted to tell him that everything Maria had said wasn't true, that she wasn't pining for Max. She wanted to assure him that she cared about him, and she wanted to hear him tell her that he liked her too.

But somehow, she just couldn't answer the phone. She let it go to voicemail instead.

She should have known better than to expect that Max and Liz breaking up might be better for her. As long as they were together, she was just the girl who wanted Max, but would never get him. Now that they were apart, she was the girl who had split up the 'soul mates' and ruined everything.

And really, could she blame Maria for feeling that way? None of this was fair, and it wasn't Liz's fault that she had fallen for Max.

Tess slowed to a walk, shaking her head and trying to organize her addled thoughts. What was she supposed to do now? How should she act around them? Should she give everyone space to adjust to the new group dynamic? Or should she just jump in and take advantage of the situation?

And, what worried her most of all… Was Maria right? Had she just been using Matt while waiting for Max to be free? She wanted to think that she was a better person than that, but wasn't there some truth in it? She loved Max, and always would. Was Matt just a filler?

She was so lost in these questions, she didn't hear the footsteps approaching her until a shadow fell across her path, and she looked up in surprise.

Too late to recognize the danger, she faded into darkness, a cry of fear dying on her lips.

* * *

Mrs. Evans gathered her groceries bags into her arms and started towards the sliding doors. She looked down at everything she was carrying and sighed in exasperation. She never quite understood how her family managed to go through so much food in such a short period of time. But almost every week, she was back at this store, restocking their kitchen. 

In the parking lot, the bright sun momentarily blinded her. Once her eyes adjusted to the light, she made her way towards her car. She'd parked at the far end of the parking lot, having read somewhere that forcing oneself to walk even a few extra steps each day could add years to a person's life. Now that her children were in high school, she had more time on her hands, but she still found life to be a bit too sedentary. She needed the added exercise, no matter how short it was.

When she arrived at her car, she put the bags down on the cement and unlocked the trunk. As she did so, she glanced out at the street. It was busy, several cars rushing by. It never ceased to amaze her that a tiny little town like Roswell could actually have traffic.

Across the street, she caught sight of sunlight glinting off of golden curls, and bright sapphire eyes pooling with tears.

Tess.

She was obviously upset about something, and Mrs. Evans was about to call out to her, when another man appeared, stepping out of the shadows and moving in front of Tess. His back was to Mrs. Evans, so she couldn't see any of his features.

Tess looked up, confusion sliding over her features.

Then the confusion changed to fear.

The man did something to Tess, but Mrs. Evans couldn't see what it was. She watched, frozen in horror, as Tess collapsed to the ground, and the man reached down to lift her up.

"_Tess!_"

Mrs. Evans started into the street, groceries and car forgotten. But a bus passed in front of her, and she was forced to step back onto the curb. For a moment, the bus obstructed her view of Tess and the strange man, and she felt panic well up within her.

When the bus passed away, Tess and the man were gone.

* * *

Isabel dialed the numbers, hands shaking slightly as she did so. She held the phone up to her ear, taking a deep breath and listening to the rings. Finally, a voice answered, "Hello?" 

"Hello, Khivar," Isabel said, her voice trembling.

"Vilandra, what a pleasant surprise," Alex's voice drifted to her.

"My name," Isabel said coldly, "is Isabel Evans, and I didn't call to talk to you."

"Who did you want to speak to?" Alex mocked her. "Nicolas, perhaps?"

"Alex, I know you're in there, and I'm praying you can hear me," Isabel said, ignoring Khivar's question. "Because there's something I need to tell, and I want to tell you now."

"Oh, that's so sweet," Alex laughed cruelly. "But your little Alex isn't going to be free any time soon, so you might as well just talk to me."

Again, Isabel ignored him. "We're going to free you. I promise you that, we're going to get Khivar out of your body. I won't let him hurt you anymore."

"A little late to be making these promises, my dear," Alex sneered.

"And I'm sorry. I'm so sorry for falling for you when you were Khivar. I'm sorry for this past year, for leading you on like this. I'm sorry for taking advantage of you. I'm sorry for everything I've done. I just… I just want you to know that I still care about you. So much. And I do love you. I'm just… It's platonic love."

"I'm sure that will be a comfort to the man who's been falling your around like a puppy-dog for the past two years, trying to get your attention with his pathetic talents."

"I want us to be friends, like we were in the beginning. I want us to… please, Alex, I want us to be friends. I want us to be okay again." Isabel paused, then realizing that she'd said everything she wanted to say, ended the conversation by saying, "I'll talk to you later, Alex. When you are actually yourself."

And she hung up.

* * *

Time goes forward, life goes on, the world keeps spinning. 

Day, night, day, night, day, night…

Seconds, minutes, hours, days, weeks, years…

You can't ever reverse time, can't make the world spin the other direction, can't force the sand to float upwards in the hourglass. No matter what, you have to keep moving forward, because time waits for no one.

So when people say they want to start over, they're fools. You can't start over. You can't erase the past, you can't make it just disappear, fade away.

But if you can't start over, you can at least start _again_.

If you can't erase the past, you can at least ignore it.

If you can't change what happened, you can at least confront it, deal with it, understand it, learn from it.

Or you can forget. If something's too broken to be fixed, you can forget it and start again.

Sometimes you have to.

That's the irony of life.

You can't ever go back.

But sometimes the only way to go forward is to go backwards first.


	26. Faith

Title: Providence

Disclaimer: I don't own anything

Author's note: I don't really have anything to say here, so on with the story…

* * *

Chapter Twenty-Six: Faith

Valenti instructed the terrified Mrs. Evans to go back to her home and try to relax while he dealt with Tess' disappearance. Promising to keep her informed of any developments, he shooed her out the door. As she left, he glanced down at the notepad on which he had written Mrs. Evans' description of the events. Someone, matching the description of this mysterious Seeker, had kidnapped Tess and vanished all in broad daylight in the middle of the town.

How was this possible? Slamming his fist against the wall, he reached for the phone, dialing Kyle number.

"Hey, Dad," Kyle greeted, sounding slightly confused. It was rare that his father would randomly call him in the middle of the day, but with everything that had been going on lately… his thoughts automatically turned to Tess. "Is Tess alright?"

"No. Come home," Valenti instructed. Without waiting to explain what had happened, he hung up, then dialed Max's number.

Max picked up on the third ring. "Sheriff… uh… I mean, Mr. Valenti? Everything alright?"

Valenti let out a breath, feeling the air pass through his slightly parted lips. The tightness that had clenched down on his chest the moment Mrs. Evans burst through the door and told him what she had seen squeezed tighter, taking his breath away.

"It's Tess. She's been kidnapped."

* * *

Darkness. A lot of it. Heavy and thick, like dark oil. Pressing down, everywhere, pulling and pushing, filling the air. Humid, damp…

Gasping for breath. Eyelids fluttering, trying to fight against the darkness.

Everything was spinning, spinning, spinning…

She was lying on something soft and lumpy, like a badly stuffed mattress. It was damp, drenched in her own sweat. There was something over her, pressing down against her skin. A blanket, perhaps, but it felt heavier than that. Or maybe she was just weaker.

Tess struggled to open her eyes and found herself lying on a sofa. Pushing herself into a sitting position and shoving the blonde curls out of her blue eyes, she glanced around. The room was empty except for the sofa. The floor was covered with a threadbare gray rug, and the high walls were plastered with fading blue wallpaper. There was one window, near the top of the far wall, and sunlight poured into the room through the dirty glass.

She stood up quickly and hurried to the door. Pulling at the handle, she found it was locked. She stepped back, raising her hand, prepared to blast the door open, but her powers didn't even make a dent. The door was too strong, to heavy… like the material the FBI had used at their base at Eagle Rock, she couldn't manipulate it.

She sighed. Of course, she hadn't expected escape to be that easy. She looked around again, gaze lingering over everything, mind working frantically. She didn't know where the Seeker was, but she knew it would only be a matter of time before he came back. And she wanted to be far away by the time that happened.

* * *

"What exactly did my Mom see?" Isabel asked, settling herself onto the sofa in the Valenti living room. "I mean, are we sure this was a kidnapping?"

"Positive," Kyle said before his father could answer. He was looking over the notes his father had taken, reading Mrs. Evans description of the man who had taken Tess. "This fits the Seeker," he added. "Do we think it's him?"

"So, what exactly did my mom see? I mean… just Tess standing on the street, and then a guy talking to her, and then when the bus went by, they were both gone? Maybe they walked away together?" Isabel suggested, reluctant to consider the possibility that Tess was really gone.

"Isabel," Kyle snapped disbelievingly. He'd arrived at his house ten minutes before Max and Isabel, and his father had filled him in on everything that had happened. Then he had to sit and listen to his father explain everything to Max. Then Michael showed up, and once again they had to repeat the entire explanation. Kyle paced impatiently through the entire thing, worried that every second his sort-of sister was coming closer and closer to death.

Michael glanced from Kyle to Isabel. Max had called him after the alien king had been informed of Tess' alleged kidnapping, and he'd gotten to the Valentis' as quickly as possible. It was the first time he'd seen Isabel since he and Maria broke up, since Maria had told him that she knew he was in love with someone else…

He pushed the thought away. If Tess was in danger, this was not the time to think about his future with Isabel.

"Kyle, Isabel's just trying to make sure we know everything before we rush into something. Not be prepared is only going to get us into more trouble, and that won't help Tess," Max explained softly.

Kyle narrowed his eyes at Isabel and shrugged silently.

"Kyle, Tess and I may have had our problems, but don't you dare think that I don't care about Tess," Isabel said firmly. "I just…" she glanced over at Max. "She ran out of the Crashdown," she said at last, her voice barely above a whisper.

"It's not your fault, Izzy," Max replied quickly. "We didn't know Tess was in any danger." He rubbed his eyes wearily and added, "And if I recall correctly, you were jus trying to defend her in that conversation."

That caught Michael's attention. "What happened?" he asked, confused.

Isabel bit her lip and replied very hesitantly, "We got into an argument, Maria, Liz, Max, and I. Some… not so flattering things… were said about Tess. At some point during our argument… she came into the Crashdown… and heard it. She ran out. Matt was there also, and he went after her, but she was already gone…"

"Is that why Liz and Maria aren't here?" Valenti asked delicately. He'd wondered about that, why the three aliens had shown up without the two human girls.

Isabel flushed red and nodded, but Max spoke up, bringing the conversation back on track.

"So, we assume that Tess has been kidnapped by the Seeker. We need to find her. Isabel, can you dream-walk her? Figure out her location?"

Isabel raised an eyebrow. "If she's not sleeping, I may not be able to get through." She ran a hand through her hair and closed her eyes, trying to pull herself back together. Fear was eating away at her, they all knew how much danger Tess was in right now, and no matter what Max said, Isabel couldn't shake the feeling that if she'd just somehow managed to stop Tess from leaving the Crashdown, this wouldn't have happened.

"You did with Max when he was in New York," Kyle pointed out.

"Yeah, but Max is my brother," Isabel objected. "Tess isn't…" She opened her eyes and looked at Kyle. "But I'll try. I'll do my best to find her, assuming…" She stopped abruptly, unable to say what she was thinking.

_Assuming Tess was still alive._

"She is," Max said firmly, knowing what his sister was implying. "We'd feel it if she wasn't."

"How can you be so sure?" Kyle cut in. "I mean, the Seeker wants Tess dead, we all know that. He told us that." Shaking his head in anger and frustration, he added bitterly, "And you guys just let him go."

"We didn't have a choice. We couldn't kill him," Max argued back.

"Yeah, and now he's going to kill Tess!"

"Kyle," Valenti interrupted, his voice low. "Laying blame isn't going to save Tess. Let's just focus on getting her back, alright?" Kyle nodded sullenly, and Valenti turned to Isabel. "So, if you can locate her, then what?"

Isabel slanted a look at Max. "Depending on where she is… and what condition she's in…"

"One step at a time," Max replied. "First, we need to find her."

* * *

The walls wouldn't budge, and although she'd managed to use her powers to shatter the glass on the window, it was too high up for her to reach. The sofa was bolted to the floor in the middle of the room, too far away from the window for her to use it as a support. She'd even tried to remove the hinges on the door, and that attempt had failed as well.

There was no way out of the room.

Tess felt panic flood her as she realized she was well and truly trapped, and this time she had no idea how she was supposed to get out of it.

Had anyone even noticed her absence yet? When would they realize she was gone? Would they miss her at all?

Maria's angry voice rang in her mind. Clearly, the blonde human didn't think much of her. No, Maria wouldn't notice her absence, and even if she did, she'd probably just relish it. And Liz and Max… they'd just sat there while Maria…

Isabel had stood up for her. Tess allowed herself a small smile at that, looked like Isabel really meant what she said about starting over.

She looked around the room again. "How do I get out of here, Nasedo?" she murmured. "You taught me this, you taught me how to get out of any situation. Why don't I remember?" She closed her eyes. "Tell me how to do this."

* * *

"Get up."

Alex glanced up in surprise at the man who had suddenly appeared in the doorway to his room. He had been lying on his bed, staring at the ceiling and contemplating his next move. It was odd, how relaxed this entire project was. He was safe in Alex's body, they wouldn't attack him. It was too risky, they might harm the real Alex. He had all the time in the world, because no one was going to attack him yet.

Until the Seeker appeared in his room, staring at him with cold anger.

Alex sat up slowly, offering the other man a cool smile. "What a pleasant surprised…" he drawled. "What can I do for you, Seeker?"

"You can answer my questions," the Seeker replied. He glared at Alex. "You sent me after the wrong Queen. The dupe. Why?"

"Why did you wait so long to ask me that question?" Alex replied with a smirk. "You must have been wondering it all along."

"Perhaps," the Seeker conceded. "But before, I had other problems to concern myself with. Now, I want answers."

Alex shrugged. He might as well be honest with the Seeker, he was starting to believe that he might even be able to work with this other man. Perhaps they could reach an understanding. "I didn't want you to show up here yet. I thought it would take you longer to find the dupe of Ava."

"Why did you want me to be later?" the Seeker demanded. He knew the answer, but still… he had to hear it.

"Because I intended to kill the Royal Four, and then you would show up just in time to take the fall for it. The Intergalactic Council would assume you'd killed them all, you did want revenge after all. Nothing you say would ever convince anyone otherwise… and I'd be in the clear." He stood up and smiled. "It was a good plan, don't you think?"

"Killing Ava was my revenge!" the Seeker snarled.

Alex turned and walked over to the window, staring out at the sky. "She'd be dead. Who cares who kills her?"

The Seeker scoffed, "If that was true, then why didn't you just let me kill her? Why did you bother to come all the way here yourself? It can't be easy, entrusting your thrown to someone else. What makes you think it will still be there when you get back?"

Alex glanced over his shoulder. "I trust my subjects. I trust their fear of my wrath." He faced the Seeker fully, leaning back against the cool glass of the windowpane. "The Royal Four mean nothing to me. They're pathetic half-breed remnants of a once powerful family. Dead or alive, they're no threat. No, it's the Granolith I want. _That's_ why I'm here."

The Seeker accepted this in silence. Then he said, "I don't want to die. I didn't care before, but now…" He trailed off, then gave Alex a scrutinizing look. "I have Ava."

Alex looked interested. "Really? You've managed to catch her unawares? I'm impressed."

"What do you know about how my daughter died?" the Seeker asked, ignoring Alex's comment. He crossed his arms over his chest and waited for an answer, wondering how much honesty he was going to get.

"I know exactly what you and everyone else on Antar heard. The Queen killed her," Alex replied with an ugly smirk. "I guess she just… got in the way."

"Why?"

"What do you mean?" Alex asked, confused.

"Why did Ava kill her?" the Seeker pressed. "I've heard thousands of different rumors about the reasons for her death, but none of them ever made sense. What secret did she know about the Queen?"

"How would I know?" Alex replied. He narrowed his eyes and added, "And why do you even care? She'd dead, and that's what matters."

"You were sleeping with the Princess. Did Vilandra not tell you anything?" the Seeker sneered. "Maybe she didn't love you all that much…" He laughed at the anger that leapt into Alex's eyes. "Tell me, did you see her die? Was she on your side then, or had she realized you were a pathetic traitor?"

Alex forced himself to remain calm and push aside thoughts of Vilandra… his Vilandra… now dead. Focusing instead on the Seeker, he said, "Maybe she did tell me. What's it to you?"

"You want the Granolith. I want Ava dead. And now I'm starting to think I want the full story behind Lessa's death as well. And… I want to be safe. I want to avoid the Intergalactic Council," the Seeker replied. He scrutinized Alex carefully. "Now, I'm guessing you have a plan to get the Granolith. You may even know where it is. But you can't get it yet, or you would have already done so."

"So?" Alex asked, curiously.

"So, maybe we can help each other," the Seeker answered.

* * *

Tess wasn't one to give up, but she had to admit there was no way out of the room. Nothing had worked, and no matter how hard she tried, she just couldn't form any connection with the other three hybrids. Either something was blocking her powers, or she was too far away to find them. Her ability to sense others and to enter their minds was limited by distance.

Isabel's, on the other hand, was not.

She sat down on the sofa. Maybe she should just try to go back to sleep and trust that Isabel would find her? It seemed a ridiculous plan, she had no way of knowing if her absence had even been noticed yet. But what other choice did she have? There was no way out of here.

Nasedo had always taught her that she could work her way out of any problem if she just thought about it hard enough. Never give up, never give in, think on your feet, make your plans running.

She'd gone soft. She'd become too human. Living here, among the others… It was her powers that had played the integral role in saving Max from the white room, in rescuing them all from the skins with that giant fireball… and now… she couldn't even save herself anymore.

She closed her eyes. Nasedo may have taught her how to protect herself, but he never taught her how to work with others. Maybe that was the problem. Maybe she needed to stop thinking she could do everything by herself. Maybe she needed to trust that the others would realize she was missing and would come after her. Maybe she just needed a little faith.

* * *

"I can't find her," Isabel said in frustration, pulling her hand away from the yearbook. "I don't understand, it's like… something's blocking my powers. I can't even figure out where she is."

She, Michael, and Max had disappeared into the room Tess slept in, and borrowing Kyle's yearbook, attempted to find the fourth hybrid. It was the newest yearbook, it had only come out last week, and Tess smiled cheerfully up from one of the pages.

Kyle and Jim were still sitting in their living room, waiting for the aliens to come back. Kyle had wanted to watch Isabel, as though he wasn't completely convinced that she was going to make a good faith effort at finding Tess. But she'd told him, quite coldly, that if he hovered over her, she was never going to be able to concentrate, and he'd reluctantly agreed to remain in the other room.

Max and Michael exchanged worried looks, then Max said, "If the Seeker has her, it is possible he's trying to keep her from contacting us and us from finding her."

Isabel didn't say anything, just stared down at the yearbook for a moment. Her face reflected internal indecision, as though she wasn't entirely sure whether or not to say what was on her mind.

Michael, seeing her expression, reached out and placed a hand on her arm. "Izzy? What is it?" She looked at him, wordless shaking her head, not wanting to answer the question, but Michael pressed, "Tell us."

Isabel swallowed and said, "I don't even sense her, Michael. She's just… she's just not there. Maybe the Seeker is blocking us from finding her. But… there's another explanation."

Max knew what his sister was going to say before she'd even formed the words, and he forced himself to remain calm. But the fear was already bubbling within him, surging through his veins. Every feeling he'd ever tried to deny, every emotion about her he tried to ignore, came flooding back, as Isabel murmured her explanation.

"She could also be dead."

"No." Both sets of eyes turned to Max, he'd spoken the word with so much fervor and conviction. He shook his head, refusing to meet Isabel's gaze. "She's not dead. She can't be."

"Max…"

"No," Max said again, cutting into Michael's words. "Look, we don't have proof that she's dead. So right now we should operate under the assumption that she is alive. She has to be alive, we have to believe that she's still alive…" He didn't finish the sentence, but they were all thinking the same thing.

Because she's family.

"Is she is alive," Isabel said at last, "we'll find her." Even she had trouble believing her words, but she knew better than to tell Max that. For right now, they would simply have to believe that everything was going to be alright as long as they could find Tess.

* * *

People want proof.

Does smoking cause lung cancer? Is global warming real? Am I good enough at my job? Does my boyfriend really love me?

Show them studies, show them experiments. Give them examples, anecdotes.

Proof.

The more you smoke, the more tar fills your lungs, preventing oxygen from seeping into your blood, lowering your body's ability to function. Your boyfriend bought you roses on your birthday, took you out to dinner because you wanted to go to this new restaurant that had just opened, sat through the latest chick flick with you on your anniversary.

You don't always have proof. You can't always promise that something is going to work out. You can't always make a guarantee.

Sometimes all you have to go on is faith, and that has to be enough.


	27. The Hand You're Dealt

Title: Providence

Disclaimer: I don't own anything

Author's note: As usual, _italics_ are flashbacks to life on Antar. Because it has been a while since my last Antar flashback, I figured I should remind you all that Vilandra has just confessed to Rath that she fell in love with Khivar and betrayed royal secrets to him, and Rath refused to take her back.

* * *

Chapter Twenty-Seven: The Hand You're Dealt

Jump back to the very beginning, to the first chapter. We were playing a game of cards, playing poker.

Poker is a funny game. It's a little bit luck, a little bit skill, and a hell of a lot bluffing ability. The luck is what determines the hand you are dealt. You can't ever really change that, and if you get four aces, you're in a much better position than if you get a two. The skill is knowing which cards to keep and which to trade in and how to bet at any given time. It's knowing when to stay and when to fold. The bluffing… that's what makes or breaks the game. That's looking at your hand, realizing you've got nothing, and deciding to stay in anyway.

It's risky. It's stupid. But the rewards, if you pull it off, are astronomical. Of course, the losses, if you fail, are just as great.

* * *

"_Would you like to talk?"_

_Vilandra turned to see her brother approaching. She'd been sitting on the balcony, staring at the distant sinking sun, lost in her own thoughts. She had not heard the doors behind her open, but there her brother was, staring down at her with an unreadable expression._

_She stood, slowly, unsure. Rath would have spoken to him by now, and everyone would know of her betrayal. How would her brother react?_

"_There's no need to stand for me," Zan said softly, gesturing for Vilandra to reseat herself. She did so, and he leaned against the balcony railing, staring away from her into the sky. "I've just spoken to Rath, Princess."_

_Vilandra flinched at the formal title. Since when did her brother refer to her that way? She looked down at her hands, he knew of what she had done. Would he ever forgive her?_

"_What did Rath tell you… your Majesty?" Vilandra said. She wasn't sure if she was supposed to address her brother by his name or his title, it all depended on whether or not he would forgive her for her transgressions._

_Zan turned to face her. "He told me what you told him."_

"_I see…" Vilandra murmured, letting the sentence trail off at the end. She didn't see, though. She didn't understand what she was supposed to do now. She didn't know who to believe. Rath had left her, and Zan she was sure would as well. She'd be all alone…_

_It had been a gamble, telling Rath the truth. She hoped her honesty would allow him to forgive her, and if not to trust her, than at least to not distrust her. But the gamble had failed, and she'd lost everything when Rath walked away._

"_Do you?" Zan asked, his words a harsh bark. "Do you know what it feels like to have your own sibling betray you?"_

_Vilandra raised her eyes to him, dark and cold and filled with an internal fire. "Yes," she replied bitterly, honestly. "To have your own sibling not trust you? Not tell you anything? Continually push you aside because they don't think you are worth time or effort? I know _exactly_ what that is like."_

_Zan stepped back at the force of her accusation. Hadn't Ava said the exact same thing about the situation? They had never truly given Vilandra a reason to trust them, so why was it any surprise that she didn't?_

"_You told Khivar my secrets. You…" Zan stopped and took a breath to quell his growing rage. Perhaps Vilandra had a right to be upset with him, but her betrayal was so much greater, so much worse. Was she remorseful? Did she even care? "You have brought ruin on us all!"_

"_I did not tell him everything," Vilandra replied coolly. "I could have easily revealed much worse, but I did not." She was in love, but she was not completely foolish, she knew that withholding information was the only way to play this game. She had not told Khivar everything she knew, nor did she ever intend to._

"_You told him enough," Zan said, turning away. "How can I trust you now?"_

"_Why did you never trust me before?" Vilandra asked softly._

"_Do you blame me for all this, Lonnie? For your own betrayal?" Zan snapped viciously. "Are you so selfish that you will not even take responsibility for the actions that are solely yours?"_

"_I am sorry for what I have done," Vilandra said, biting her bottom lip and looking away. "I have told Khivar secrets, but… I would never hurt you, Zan. I would never try to hurt you. I am only… I am only trying to do what is best for the planet."_

"_How is helping Khivar best for this planet?" Zan asked derisively._

"_How is what you are doing best for this planet?" Vilandra whispered, raising her tawny eyes to her brother. "I see destruction everywhere. Because you are trying to advance us. Because you want to turn this planet into something it is not. And because you are still as determined to destroy Khivar as he is to destroy you!"_

"_It is necessary!" Zan snarled. He had had this conversation with too many people to want to hear from his own sister. Yes, he was bringing hardship to the planet. He was slowly erasing their heritage, their customs… But he had no choice. If they did not advance themselves, the other planets would bring them to ruin. _

"_Is it?"_

"_How can you believe Khivar and not your own brother?" Zan asked heatedly._

_Vilandra almost laughed. "Because he was willing to take the time to explain his opinions to me," Vilandra snapped, her voice becoming an icy whisper. "I never meant to hurt you, Zan. Nor did I ever want anything to happen to Lessa. I did not plan her death, or have any hand in it. I do not know how she died." She stood slowly. " I am only trying to do what is right, and if you won't help me figure out which path to follow, then are you really so surprised I would try to find it for myself?" Without another word, without even waiting to be excused from his presence, she swept away._

* * *

Maria sat heavily on Liz's bed, feeling the cushions giving slightly underneath her weight. She pulled her knees into her chest and stared blankly at the window opposite her, at the blue bits of sky she could see poking through the curtains. Liz was sitting across from her, perched on the chair next to her desk. She watched Maria carefully, but didn't say anything.

Maria had fled the diner after her argument with Max and Isabel, and sought sanctuary in Liz's room. She wasn't sure how long Liz had stayed behind to talk to Max, or what they two had said, but the brunette had appeared in the room only a few minutes ago.

Finally, Maria let out a breath and turned to Liz. "Thanks for letting me use your room," she said.

Liz shrugged. "I would have come up earlier to make sure you were okay, but I had to smooth things over with Max and then explain to my father why you were yelling at our patrons in the first place." She didn't sound upset or annoyed, merely disappointed, and it made Maria feel even worse.

"I'm sorry," the blonde waitress muttered. She didn't regret most of the things she had said, but she did regret pulling Liz into this. After all, Liz wanted to handle her issues with Max on her own, and she should have respected her best friend's wish.

It just made her so angry. Every since Tess had come, the dynamics of the group had changed drastically. More and more, she found herself on the outside, watching everyone else make the important decisions. And lately, since Prom, she couldn't help but think that things were getting worse.

After all, Alex's very life was in danger, and could she really forgive the aliens for bringing this upon all of them?

Logically, she knew this wasn't solely Tess' fault. She still firmly believed that the fourth alien was simply waiting, biding her time until Max was available again. But Tess hadn't worked with Khivar, Tess hadn't put Alex in danger. She was part of the group and it was her life too.

Still…

"Maria, you broke up with Michael," Liz said at last, breaking the uncomfortable silence that had fallen once again. "You're the one who decided that. It was your choice."

Maria shook her head, refuting Liz's words. "No, it wasn't," she said. "I broke up with Michael because I knew he didn't love me anymore. Not because I didn't love him."

"It's not his fault. It's not any of their faults," Liz murmured.

"Alex could die," Maria retorted sharply, raising her eyes to Liz. "Alex could die because of them. He was possessed by Khivar because of the four of them. How can you say this isn't their fault?"

"I would have died if Max hadn't saved me after the shooting," Liz replied pointedly. "Do you regret that as well?"

Maria pushed herself off the bed, standing up quickly. "Max saved your life. You owed him. I owed him. Alex owed him. But we repaid that debt by not telling their secret. By rescuing him from the white room, from Lonnie and Rath in New York City. How many times did we put our own lives in danger to repay them? When does that debt end? With Alex's death? Is that what it is going to take before you realize that this _is_ their fault?"

"Alex is not going to die," Liz said firmly, harshly.

Maria stared at her, then shook her head. "I really wish I believed that," she whispered.

* * *

There were not many things that surprised Kyle anymore. He'd been shot and brought back to life by aliens. He'd seen things most people never even knew existed, dreamt of things people assumed were nothing more than fantasy. There was little that left his speechless.

Which was why it came as such a surprise to him that when Alex Whitman walked casually through the door of his house, he couldn't think of anything to say.

Alex shot him a smirk and said, "Well, well, well… cat got your tongue, Valenti?" His voice filled the silent room, reverberating against the walls, bouncing through the space. The sound of his voice brought Jim rushing in from the kitchen, and Max, Isabel, and Michael hurrying from the bedroom.

"Get away from my son," Jim snarled, already moving to pull Kyle away from Alex.

"If it isn't a family reunion," Alex laughed easily, leaning against the wall as he surveyed everyone else. "Zan, Rath, Vilandra… but it appears that someone is missing, doesn't it?"

"Where is she?" Max demanded, striding forward angrily. "Where is Tess? What have you done with her?" When Alex didn't say anything, Max raised a hand and telekinetically through him against the wall. "Tell me!" he hissed, trembling with rage.

Michael and Isabel exchanged a brief, worried glance. They had never seen Max like this; not when Nasedo kidnapped Liz, not when Lonnie and Rath tried to kill him, not even when he found Liz in bed with Kyle and thought they'd slept together. The raw fury radiating under his skin was threatening to explode, and Isabel suddenly realized she needed to do something or Max would end up killing Alex.

The hybrid Princess stepped forward and put a hand on Max's arm, forcing him to look at her. His livid eyes calmed slightly under her gentle gaze, and he swallowed and reigned in his temper.

Michael, meanwhile, moved past Max and Isabel and stared down at Alex. The possessed human was slowly pulling himself back to his feet. Although the force of the blow must of hurt him, he showed no signs of pain. His face was still fixed in the same smug expression, his eyes still sparkling with mocking laughter.

"You're never going to find her, you know," Alex drawled. "The Seeker made sure of that."

"You're working with him?" Michael asked in a low growl.

"Well, I wasn't," Alex said thoughtfully. "Actually, I was using him as a scapegoat. But, apparently, he wants to work with me, and we do make a pretty good team." He glanced over at Max. "It would be so easy to kill her, you know. No one around to even hear her scream…"

Max raised his hand to attack Alex again, but this time it was Jim who stopped him.

"Don't, Max. He's still Alex. You can't hurt him."

Max stared at the ex-sheriff and nodded bitterly. He didn't understand where this anger and panic was coming from, but he knew he couldn't let anything happen to Tess. He just couldn't. He'd always taken for granted that she would offer him her undying support. Things had been rocky these past few weeks, the entire group falling slowly apart. But she'd still been there when they needed her, and now… the idea of her not being there anymore left him with an empty feeling, a gaping hole that refused to shut.

"Hurts, doesn't it?" Alex murmured, walking towards Max. He paused in front of the hybrid king. "I can see it in your eyes, you're hurting so much. The idea of Ava… or should I call her Tess?… dying is unbearable." He folded his arms over his chest. "I've felt that pain before, losing someone you truly loved, never realizing until it is too late how much you actually cared…" He drifted off into a heavy silence.

"Where is she?" Max repeated, forcing himself to stay even-tempered.

"I get why you didn't admit to loving her before. Why you clung to your precious human… Liz. We all want what we know, what we understand. Liz was comfortable, easy to get along with. You felt like she completed you, like she was your other half. You _know_ Liz." Although Alex's words were soft and gentle, and even his tone lacked derision or scorn, he was baiting Max, getting under his skin.

And Max was fighting in vain to keep from lashing out. Every cell in his body wanted nothing more than to attack Alex, to get him to stop talking.

Alex continued, "But don't you see? Love isn't supposed to be easy and comfortable. Love is out-of-control. Love is something you never really understand. And it's scary and overwhelming, but if it is really love, then you deal with that crazy, emotional roller-coaster, over-your-head feeling. Because it's worth it."

Max bit his lip. Wasn't that always what he had felt for Tess? And wasn't that why he'd stayed away from her, claiming he didn't love her? Because he didn't understand her, because he didn't know her, because her didn't comprehend any of his emotions when he was around her.

In the same soft, gentle, soothing tone, Alex said, "And now I'm going to kill her."

Max didn't move. He didn't bat an eyelid. He didn't even dare breathe for fear that any movement would cause him to kill the man in front of him.

It didn't make a difference.

Uncontrollable, irrepressible, and terrifyingly strong, his power leapt out of his still body and crackled through the air like electricity. It was blinding white and harsh and cold and burning hot all at the same time and when it slipped away, Alex was crumpled on the floor, gasping for breath.

Slowly, ever so slowly, Alex rose to his feet, grabbing onto the sofa to stay standing. He stared at Max, a calculating look, perhaps realizing for the first time that these hybrids were not as weak and pathetic as he had originally thought. Still, it didn't matter, he'd already won. They had the Queen, the game was almost over.

"Seems like I hit a nerve," Alex laughed cruelly. The laugh made him double over in pain, however, and it took a moment until he could speak again. "And I don't think your human friend is going to be so pleased about the amount of harm you are causing his body."

"What do you want, Khivar?" Michael asked, drawing all eyes to him. Isabel was still standing next to Max, a hand on his arm, her mouth open in surprise at the display of power she had just witnessed. Jim and Kyle stood off to the side, unwilling to leave the room while Tess' fate was being discussed, but knowing better than to put themselves in the middle of the argument where they would end up being nothing more than a liability to the remaining Royals.

"Well, since I'm such a charitable guy, I'll give you one chance to save Tess." He turned his attention back to Max. "I want the Granolith."

Max laughed. The sound bubbled in his throat for a moment before erupting from his mouth. "And if I give you the Granolith? What's to stop you from just killing Tess?"

"I know where the Granolith is, your dear Second in Command was kind enough to accidentally drop that piece of information," Alex explained. Max and Isabel looked at Michael is dismay, and Michael flushed red in fury and embarrassment. Alex continued, "But I know that I need you to open the pod chamber. I can't do it on my own."

"I repeat, what's to keep you from killing Tess? How do we even know she's still alive?"

Alex shrugged. "If she was dead, you'd feel it." He looked over at Jim and Kyle for a moment, as though contemplating whether or not they were worthy of being included in the discussion. Then he said, "Come to the pod chamber, tomorrow morning at dawn. The Seeker and I will bring Tess. We will make an exchange then."

"And the Seeker agreed to this?" Kyle asked, speaking up for the first time since Alex entered the house. "He wants Tess dead. Why would he care if you got the Granolith or not?"

Alex shrugged, unconcerned by the apparent lack of consistency in the plan. "Who knows? But he has agreed to the plan." He gave everyone in the room one last hard stare, then finished, "You don't have to show up if you don't want to. But Tess will die if you aren't there." And he turned and walked away, the door shutting behind him, echoing with finality in the silent house.

* * *

"She's not answering my calls," Matt said in frustration, talking to no one. He'd been trying to call Tess for the better part of several hours, and no one was answering either her cell phone or the phone at the Valenits' house.

"You'll see her tomorrow," his little sister said as she wandered aimlessly into his room.

"Get out of my room, Emily," Matt said without looking up. She was ten, and had yet to learn that sometimes it was nice to knock before entering a room.

Emily didn't leave, however. Instead, she batted large blue eyes and tugged on one of her braids. "Why do you want to call her so badly?" she asked innocently. "Are you in love?" She giggled and continued in a sing-song voice, "Matt and Tess sitting in a tree…" Matt threw a pillow at her and she fled the room, calling over her shoulder, "Will you name your first child after me?"

Matt sighed. Tess was probably just upset about the conversation she'd overheard. Could he blame her? Those two waitresses weren't being particularly nice to her. But he'd see her tomorrow in school, and they could sort it all out then.

Still, he wasn't quite able to quell the fear that condensed into a ball in his stomach.

* * *

"We need a plan," Kyle said, pacing the room.

"Stop stating the obvious, Kyle, it's not helping," Max snapped. He was sitting on the Valenti's sofa, his head buried in his hands, trying to figure out what he was supposed to do now. Zan would have known what to do. Zan would have rescued his wife and protected the Granolith all at the same time. But he wasn't Zan, he was just Max Evans, and he didn't know how to be a king.

Isabel touched his arm, sending him a gently reassuring glance. "We'll figure this out," she whispered, although she hardly believed the words herself.

"Will we?" Max replied. He stood up abruptly and looked over at Michael. "Any ideas?"

At any other point in time, Michael might have paused to admire the irony in the fact that Max was actually asking him for ideas. But Tess was in very real danger, and nothing was funny right now. He shook his head slowly. "Izzy's right, Max. We'll think of something," he tried to reassure his panicked friend.

"So, remind me again why exactly we can't just give Khivar this Granolith thing?" Kyle demanded, looking from one alien to another.

"Because with the Granolith, Khivar will have enough power to easily kill us all. He'll be unstoppable," Max said dully, dismayed by the realization that they were facing a daunting task. "It won't do us any good to save Tess if he just kills us all anyway."

"And there is no possible way to reach Tess?" Valenti asked, directing the question at Isabel.

The hybrid Princess shook her head. "Believe me, I tried. They've done something to keep her from us. I'm not going to be able to find her."

"And I don't quite understand how the Seeker fits into all of this," Valenti added, running a hand through his hair. "I know he kidnapped Tess, but why? I thought he just wanted her dead?"

Michael shrugged. "We did too. I don't know why he wouldn't have killed her yet."

"And why does Khivar want the Granolith?" Kyle asked. He didn't really understand what this Granolith thing was. A giant source of energy? Of power? A weapon of some kind? Or a spaceship? What was it for, how did it work, and why was it so important?

"To kill us? To conquer other planets besides Antar? To make sure it doesn't fall into his enemies' hands," Michael muttered. "Who knows? Probably all of those."

"We don't know where Tess is. We don't know what Khivar is going to do if we give him the Granolith. We don't know why the Seeker wants Tess dead or why he agreed to work with Khivar. We don't know anything!" Isabel said in frustration, throwing her hands up in the air.

But Max was looking at her with a very thoughtful expression. "No, that's not true," he said slowly. "We do have something." All eyes turned towards him, and he explained, "We have the fact that Khivar doesn't know how much we know about him."

"We know Isabel is the only one who can kick him out of Alex's body, and that she needs to dream-walk him for that to happen," Max continued. "We have the knowledge that the Seeker wants Tess dead more than anything else in the world, which means it is unlikely he is actually willing to just hand her over to us. And while we might not remember much about our past lives, Khivar doesn't know how much we do or don't remember."

"Does that change anything?" Kyle questioned, confusion playing across his features.

Max turned to Kyle with a triumphant expression on his face. "That, Kyle, changes everything."

* * *

"_Am I to assume that the conversation with Vilandra did not go well, then?" Ava asked as Zan slammed the door of the bedroom shut behind him and strode angrily to the far window._

"_She is not even apologetic!" Zan raged, his fury beating frantically through his veins. "She believes that I am destroying the planet. She believes Khivar. She…" He slammed his fist into the wall. How could she?_

_Ava considered this, then asked gently, "Well, did you try to explain your point of view to her? Did you try to show her why you are doing what you are doing?"_

_Zan glared at her. "I should not have to! She should believe me simply because I am her brother. Her king." He looked out the window again, staring through the glass to the outside world he was trying to so hard to protect._

"_It is not that simple," Ava whispered, moving to stand behind her husband. She rested her hand on his shoulder almost tentatively, as though afraid that he would explode at her touch. "The planet is seeing hard times because of your policies."_

"_They are necessary," Zan snapped, spinning to face his wife. "We must advance. We must be able to compete with other planets in the galaxy, or we will be destroyed." His face was flushed crimson red with rage. "I do not have a choice."_

"_I know that," Ava said quickly, stepping away from her husband and lifting one hand to stem his flow of words. Placing the other hand protectively on her the bulge of her stomach, she continued, "I know this because I have listened to both you and Rath explain it to me. Vilandra has not had that luxury. When did the two of you ever take time to explain your policies to her?"_

"_So you do not think she is at fault?" Zan snarled._

"_She fell in love with Khivar. She betrayed Rath by starting a relationship with his enemy." Ava sighed. "And she told Khivar your secrets, she betrayed you as well. All I am saying is that her intentions were never to harm you. Only to do what is right for this planet."_

"_Khivar is not what is right for this planet," Zan muttered._

_Ava smiled indulgently. "No, he is not. Zan, you were not given an easy path. Antar is at a crossroads now. One choice leads to the loss of our culture, our heritage, our identity. The other choice leads us to ruin, poverty, and destruction. It is not easy to determine what to do when you must necessarily lose no matter what."_

"_True…" Zan sighed. He wanted what was best for his people, but often he laid awake at night, plagued by the fear that perhaps he was making the wrong decisions. In the light of day, he would once more realize that he was only doing what had to be done, but… the nights left him filled with doubt and fear._

"_There is loss everywhere," Ava continued. "And you must understand that not everyone will be as accepting of it as you would hope. There will always be people who disagree with you."_

"_But my own sister?" Zan snapped, anger rising within him once more. "If she doubted, she should have come to me. Instead of running to Khivar, instead of asking for answers from the man who wants to bring about the end of this House…"_

"_Yes, she should have," Ava agreed. "And I do not know exactly why she felt you would not help her. All I know is that she truly believed that you did not care enough to confide in her, to trust her. She was hurt, and she made the wrong decisions. But she is your sister."_

"_All the more reason for her to trust me with out question!" Zan spat. "I am her brother, her King! She is my family and she should no better than to disobey me, no matter her reasons."_

"_If that is what you wan from your family, Zan, then you picked the wrong wife," Ava said coolly._

_Zan stared at her for a moment, then looked away, breathing deeply. He rested his head against the cool glass and closed his eyes, wishing for once that the world had easier answers to offer. "There was a time when I thought Lonnie was the one person I would trust more than anyone else, the one person I would give my life to protect. How did things change so much?"_

"_You would still give your life to protect her, Zan," Ava said, approaching him once again. She hugged him from behind, resting her head on his shoulder. "You love her, and she loves you."_

"_How do you know that?" Zan asked in a barely audible voice._

_Ava smiled sadly. "Because if you did not love each other, this would not hurt as much."_

* * *

The thing is, you can't ever change the hand you've been dealt. And your skill level is so determined by experience that you really don't even have much control over that. But bluffing…

With bluffing, you can pretend the cards you do have are different cards, better cards. With bluffing, things are actually in your control. With bluffing, you can take that hand you've been dealt, and turn it into a hand you can actually play.

Of course, if you do decide to bluff, poker becomes a game of four attributes. Luck, skill, bluffing ability… and prayer.

Because you'd really better start praying it all works out.


	28. Even the Wise

Title: Providence

Disclaimer: I don't own anything

Author's note: This is a pretty short chapter. It mostly just sets up the scene for the next couple chapters, which will be longer and more action-filled. The quotes at the beginning and end of the chapter are from the _Lord of the Rings_ trilogy by Tolkien.

* * *

Chapter Twenty-Eight: Even the Wise

Frodo: It's a pity Bilbo didn't kill him when he had the chance.

Gandalf: Pity? It was pity that stayed Bilbo's hand. Many that live deserve death. Some that die deserve life. Can you give it to them, Frodo? Do not be too eager to deal out death in judgment. Even the very wise cannot see all ends.

* * *

_Zan watched as Ava and Vilandra spoke underneath the shade of the trees. He was standing on the balcony above them, overlooking the gated garden. He didn't know what his wife and sister were saying, and although he was tempted to slip down the stairs into the garden and eavesdrop, he knew it would be a mistake to betray either of their trusts._

_So he contented himself to watch from above, trying to read their body language._

_Footsteps on the stone behind him caught his attention, and he turned to see Rath approach. The general was clearly upset about something, and Zan felt his worry rise. What had happened this time?_

"_There is more fighting on the northern border of the city and in the lowlands," Rath reported. "And some skirmishes have broken out in the far West regions."_

_Zan didn't need to ask Rath to understand what the general was trying to convey. The time of small fighting, speeches, and threats was over; Khivar was beginning his campaign for the throne. War was upon them._

"_How has the Royal army responded?" Zan asked. He'd left this in his Second's hands before, but now he would have to take charge. He was the king, and it was his job to direct the army to protect his own planet. It was time he truly showed Khivar what the skin was up against._

"_I have directed soldiers to each of the areas, and held some back here as well…" Rath hesitated, then said, "It is worse than just fighting, however. Khivar has spread rumors… he is trying to discredit you… us…" He glanced down at Vilandra's figure. He had not spoken to her since her revelation, and it was hard for him to keep his distance. He loved her, but his pride had won out._

"_What?" Zan asked, fearing the answer._

"_Rumors of Vilandra's betrayal, of how she sided with him against you," Rath said slowly, the words rolling of his tongue as he grimaced. "And some about the Queen as well. About how she killed a servant in cold blood."_

_Zan swore under his breath. "We are sure this is Khivar's doing?"_

"_Who else?" Rath replied pointedly. "If he can turn the populace against us…"_

"_I know," Zan said heavily. Without popular support, they didn't stand a chance. If the entire planet turned on him… No, he wouldn't think like that. Instead, he asked, "Have you spoken to Ava or Vilandra about this?"_

"_No, I did not wish to trouble her Majesty with it yet," Rath explained, his eyes drifting to Ava's form. He could see the small bulge, growing larger every day, in her stomach. "Stress is unhealthy for the child," he remarked, and Zan nodded in agreement. "And… I have not spoken to the Princess…" He stopped speaking and looked away, towards his betrothed's figure._

_Zan nodded. He, too, looked at Vilandra, and sighed._

* * *

Max parked the car in the desert and glanced at Michael. He still wasn't entirely sure this plan would work, but he had to believe that they could pull it off. If they didn't… well, he wasn't willing to give up on Tess yet. They'd get her back. 

They had to.

Michael got out of the car, and Max quickly followed. The alien king and general stared up at the rising hills, at the distant pod chamber. The sun was just starting it's ascent, and it would be only a matter of time before Khivar and the Seeker appeared with the four hybrid.

The two walked in silence, picking their way carefully over the rocky ground. The rising sun painted the sky a crimson red, and Max shivered as he automatically thought of fire and blood.

Michael paused suddenly, his eyes turning towards three figures that had appeared from behind a set of rolling sandy hills. In the dim light, he could just make out Alex's pale features, the Seeker's darkening countenance, Tess' blonde hair.

They were here.

Tess appeared to be blindfolded, and something else was different about her. It was though her powers were locked, she couldn't use them. Even from this far away, Max could feel the anger and fear radiating from her. Whatever the Seeker and Khivar had done to keep Tess from accessing her powers, it had left her feeling helpless. A feeling she did not like.

Max didn't know how he knew this. He just did. And his hands unconsciously tensed into fists.

He felt a sudden heaviness on his shoulder and turned to see Michael staring at him, one hand rested on his king's arm. His eyes gave him a silent reminder. He couldn't lose his temper now, no matter how much he may want to. They didn't have time for mistakes, they would never get a second chance at this. The plan had to work, without a hitch, or everything was lost.

Michael and Max exchanged a glance, and Max nodded. It was time.

* * *

Tess stumbled over the ground. It was dry and dusty, and she couldn't see anything behind the scratchy fabric of the blindfold. Somehow, she could sense Max and Michael; they were close. She wasn't sure if that comforted her at all. 

The Seeker's arm hand pulled at her arm, tightening like a vise. She bit her lip to keep from crying out in pain, but she would not show weakness in front of either of these men.

The blindfold was unnecessary, merely a tactic to intimidate her, to scare her. Khivar had already prevented her from using her gifts. The device was a bracelet, snapped around her wrist, that mimicked the function of the pentagon-shaped object they'd taken from Brody. Only it affected just her, instead of everyone in her vicinity.

She pulled at it with her free hand, a subconscious movement that she stopped the moment she felt the sharp sting of the Seeker's palm slapping against the top of her hand.

"Don't try anything, Ava," the Seeker growled.

She turned her blindfolded eyes to the source of the sound, a thin smile twisting at the corners of her lips. She was terrified, but Nasedo had taught her the value of being able to lie no matter what she felt, and she was good at it. "I'm not afraid of you," she replied icily, and inside she knew it was a lie.

She was petrified of the Seeker.

"You should be," came Alex's voice. It was strange to hear the threats coming from someone she once thought of as… well, not a friend, but… someone she trusted. Someone she might have been friends with, had the circumstances been any different.

"Maybe it's you who should be afraid of me," she mocked.

"Afraid of a weak, powerless, pathetic, half-human?" Alex's voice shot back, smug and taunting. "What's there to fear? You're nothing." There was a silence, then he added, "And even your… friends… can't help you."

"They're here, aren't they? Max and Michael? They've come to help me," Tess replied, and felt the tiniest bit of satisfaction when she heard the Seeker's sharp intake of breath. He was wondering how she knew that, since she was blindfolded. Since she couldn't see the others. Since they hadn't told her what exactly was supposed to happen. She knew that there was some kind of deal, but she didn't know what it was.

"Let me clue you in on a secret, Ava," the Seeker hissed. "Your friends think they're rescuing you. But they're not. You're not going anywhere. So you might as well enjoy these next few minutes because they will be your last."

Tess shivered at the icy callousness of the tone. It came as no surprise to her that Khivar and the Seeker planned to double cross the hybrids. She only hoped Max and Michael were perceptive enough to have planned for this possibility. Surely they saw the likelihood of betrayal as well?

She didn't know. She could only hope.

Alex was speaking. "And when we're done with you and the other hybrids, I'll kill of their human loves as well. No point leaving any lose strings. What are there names again? Liz Parker, Maria DeLuca, and, of course, Alex Whitman. Oh… and your family, my dear. Kyle and Jim Valenti, I believe?"

Raw fury welled up within Tess, fury like she had never felt before. Without thinking, she wrenched her arm free from the Seeker's grip and launched herself in the general direction of Alex's voice. Her hands made contact with the cloth of Alex's shirt, and she managed to curl her slender fingers around his throat. Words erupted from her mouth, low and guttural, threatening.

"You even think about harming Kyle or Jim and I will _kill_ you."

The blindfold was a serious impediment to her attack, and it was only a matter of time before the Seeker was able to drag her away from Alex and pin her arms behind her back. In the distance, she heard the sound of footsteps thudding against stone, heard Michael and Max yelling her name, yelling for Khivar and the Seeker to let her go. The rush of wind whipped past her, kicking up dust and sand and dirt. Khivar, in Alex's body, was breathing heavily, gasping for oxygen. The Seeker was growling at her, some threat she wasn't listening to.

All the sounds faded into a low monotone, blending together as she kept every fraction of her four remaining senses focused on Khivar.

"You haven't won until we're all dead, Khivar, and I'm not going down without a fight."

* * *

Liz tossed and turned in her bed, unable to shake the feeling that she was supposed to be somewhere else. Sleep had not come easily to her the night before, not after the argument between Maria and Max and her subsequent conversation with the blonde waitress. Too much weighed on her mind, not the least of which was Maria's final comment, that the aliens were to blame for what was happening to Alex. 

Was she right?

Liz sat up and rubbed her eyes. Logically, she knew the answer was yes. The aliens presence had brought Khivar to them all, and Alex's involvement in the group, specifically his relationship with Isabel, had made him a perfect target.

But they hadn't wanted this to happen. No matter how upset she'd ever been with Isabel, she knew that Isabel would not ever wish this fate on Alex. And neither would Max, Michael, or Tess.

She loved Max. And he'd saved her life.

But he'd also cost Jim Valenti his career and his reputation. He'd cost Alex his sanity, and possibly his life. When did it stop? When was it too much, when would they have all crossed the line?

She loved Max.

But was that enough? Was it worth it? Being with him… was that worth all the harm that they had done to everyone else? If Alex died…

No, she wouldn't think like that.

But lying in bed, thinking over Maria's words, she realized something she hadn't known before. She loved Max so much, she couldn't imagine life without him. But she also knew that, no matter how much she loved him, she loved Alex and Maria more. And Max, Michael, Isabel, and Tess just kept putting everyone in danger by merely living here. It wasn't there fault, and she would not blame them for it, but it didn't change the fact that it was true.

For everyone's sake, she couldn't stay with Max. For everyone's sake, she couldn't put him first anymore. She'd die for him, if need be, but she wouldn't sacrifice Alex.

She closed her eyes and fell back against the pillows. Her heart was breaking, but it was the right decision. They could be friends… but nothing more.

And still the feeling was there, something tugging at her, warning her. Something was happening, and it left her uneasy and afraid.

Not knowing what else to do, she got up and grabbed a sweater. Pulling it over her head, she climbed out the window and into the early morning sunrise.

* * *

Maria pulled at her sweatshirt, shivering slightly in the early morning breeze. She walked slowly, carefully, making her way through the sandy hills. She didn't really know where she was going, but she'd needed this walk. She'd needed to get out of her house into the fresh air, needed to clear the muddled thoughts from her head. 

She'd parked her car near the edge of the desert, right at the outskirts of Roswell. She knew her mother wouldn't notice her absence for a few hours, and she could always claim she was at Liz's or Alex's house.

Alex…

She ran a hand through her hair. She was angry, so angry. Why couldn't anyone else understand that this was entirely the aliens fault? Maybe they hadn't meant for any of this to happen, maybe they really did care about Alex, but that didn't mean that they were blameless.

Liz kept defending them, over and over. Alex could die, and the brunette _still_ protected Max.

Abruptly, she frowned into the distance. She could make out shapes, figures, skirting around the rocks. The rising sun flashed on blonde hair, reflecting glowing golden light. Familiar brown hair and soft eyes were bathed in the orange and red light.

Tess, Alex, and someone she didn't recognize? What were they doing here?

Without thinking, she started walking towards them. Then she saw Tess lunge forward, fingers wrapping around Alex's throat, heard the sound of yelling. Saw Max and Michael appear, saw the strange man attacking Tess, throwing her away from Alex. Saw them stop, glaring at each other, and caught sight of the blindfold around Tess' eyes.

Maria started running towards them.

* * *

Matt grabbed the car keys from his desk and stuck his feet into his shoes. He'd gotten no sleep, and his head was foggy with vague concerns. He opened the door to his room and walked out into the hallway. His parents and sister will still asleep, the day had barely even begun yet. 

He'd have to talk to Tess today, make sure she was alright.

His fingers tightened into fists as he remembered everything the waitresses had said about Tess, remembered how Max had barely even tried to defend her. How dare her 'friends' talk about her like that?

He needed to think. An early morning jog in the desert would clear his head.

* * *

"They should have just killed him," Kyle said softly, taking a seat at the kitchen table, a mug of coffee in hand. Jim gave him a quizzical look, and he explained, "The Seeker. Max and Tess should have just killed him when they had the chance. None of this would have happened." 

"It might have. This Khivar is still a formidable threat," Jim replied, trying to not to think of what might happen, should this plan fail. He'd lost his job, his reputation, his social standing… he was not going to lose his family too. They had to get Tess back. They just had to.

Kyle shook his head. "But the Seeker helped him. The Seeker's the one who did all this, who kidnapped Tess. If he was dead, then…" He trailed off and sighed, taking a sip of his coffee. He just wanted Tess to be returned safely. To hell with everyone else, he didn't care about them anymore. Max, Isabel, and Michael had taken so much from them already, but Tess…

Without her, they weren't a family anymore. Without her, they were just two men trying to be something they would never succeed at. She was the glue that held them together.

"Tess and Max aren't killers," Jim said at last.

"But the Seeker is," Kyle muttered.

Jim paused, then answered thoughtfully, "We can't change the past, Kyle. Even if I agreed with you about this, even if I wished that Tess and Max had killed the Seeker when they had the chance… It wouldn't make a difference. What's done is done, and all we can do now is decide what we do next."

Before Kyle had a chance to respond, Isabel stepped into the kitchen, Kyle's yearbook clutched in her hands. She looked at the ex-Sheriff and his son, her eyes filled with fear and worry and hope.

"It's time."

* * *

_Frodo: I wish the ring had never come to me. I wish none of this had happened._

_Gandalf: So do all who live to see such times. But that is not for them to decide. All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given to us._

There are some things you cannot change, no matter how much you may wish to. The sun always rises and falls and the Earth always spins. Death and paying taxes are inevitable, however unpleasant they may be. The past is past, and even some of the future is set in stone.

You may get knocked to the ground over and over, but in the end, the only thing that matters is whether or not you get back up.

And that _does _matter. Some battles you've lost thousands of years before they ever started, but you fight them anyway, and you see them through to the end, come what may. No matter how many times you fall down... No matter if you know that the minute you are on your feet, you will be pushed harder and faster back to the cobblestones you were just on... No matter what the outcome may be...

You keep getting back up.


	29. Weapons of World War Three part one

Title: Providence

Disclaimer: I don't own anything

Author's note: So, once again, the chapter was going to be really long, and I had to split it in half. This is the fight scene, and if you don't like violence, you might just want to skim over it. Although, since I don't like blood and guts either, nothing will be in the least bit graphic.

* * *

Chapter Twenty-Nine: Weapons of World War Three (part one)

_I know not with what weapons World War III will be fought, but World War IV will be fought with sticks and stones._

-Albert Einstein

We started out with fists, nails, and teeth. Then someone had the idea to bring in weapons, and so we used sticks and stones. And eventually sticks became a bow and arrow. And those weapons advanced into crude knives, and then daggers, and then rapiers and swords. So we invented shields. And then someone came up with a spear and a lance and someone else decided to make metal armor. And then the cannon came along, and the gun. And in response to the gun, we procured the bullet proof vest. And so someone else decided to create the bomb, and the grenade, and the missile.

And we ended up with the atom bomb and nuclear weapons and people in Hiroshima and Nagasaki being burned alive as their skin melted around their cancer-ridden bodies.

Still, it's nice to know that mankind has evolved, isn't it?

* * *

"_How bad is it, Rath?"_

_Vilandra stopped at the sound of her brother's voice. She had been walking through the hallway towards her own rooms, but the rise and fall of words had caught her attention. Pressing herself flat against the wall, she listened with abated breath as her brother and betrothed's conversation floated around the hallway corner._

"_Several believe that, because one of your own family betrayed you, you must be wrong. For your own sister to go against you plans… They're calling for your deposal," Rath answered._

_Vilandra's breath caught in her throat. What had she done? She'd only wanted what was best for her the planet. She'd never meant this to happen…_

"_But there are some who are still loyal to us?" Zan asked hopefully._

_There was a pause, then Rath replied, "There are some who are loyal to you, your Majesty. But they… They are calling for the Princess to be… punished for her crimes."_

_Vilandra choked back a sob. The only punishments for treason were exile or death._

"_Khivar has succeeded in fracturing the planet by making the populace believe that your own family is fractured," Rath continued. "I do not know how much longer you can… delay some sort of answer. You must either forgive Vilandra, or…" He didn't finish the sentence._

"_Laws apply to all. I cannot forgive her, because I would not forgive another," Zan mused. "But… I cannot exile or execute her either. I would not…"_

"_You must," Vilandra said, stepping around the corner to face her brother and betrothed. They both spun to look at her, confusion then dismay appearing in Zan's eyes. Clearly, this was not a conversation he wanted her to overhear._

"_What do you mean, Princess?" Rath asked, breaking the tense silence._

_But Vilandra didn't look at him. Her eyes were pinned on Zan, and she refused to break her gaze, even when he shook his head in denial of her words._

"_You cannot afford to lose the support of your followers, Zan. You will not win this war without them. If the only way to prove that you are true and loyal to them above all else is to exile me, then you must do that." She did not know much about politics or war, but she knew every word she said was true._

"_I will not," Zan said firmly._

"_You have no choice," Vilandra argued._

"_And just let Khivar win?" Zan exploded, his voice echoing through the empty hallway. "Do you not see, sister, that this is his plot all along? To tear us apart? I will not let him succeed."_

_Vilandra stared at him for a long moment, her eyes boring into his, a thoughtful expression clouding her features. "He already has," she replied at last, giving her brother a sad smile._

* * *

"You promised you wouldn't hurt her!" Max snarled, stepping towards Alex threateningly. The Seeker stood behind the skin king, one hand resting on Tess' arm. Michael stood to the side of Max, every muscle in his body tensed, ready for a fight.

"She attacked me," Alex replied, "and I only acted in self defense." But he was smirking, as though challenging Max to deny his words. As long as they had Tess, they had the upper hand. Max wouldn't let anything happen to the fourth hybrid if he could help it.

Michael rested a hand on Max's shoulder and said, "Let's make the trade." They couldn't afford to waste time with pointless fighting, not now. He glanced stealthily at his watch. It was almost time…

"Take me to the Granolith," Alex said, gesturing for Max to proceed him towards the hidden pod chamber.

Max and Michael exchanged a look, then Max said, "Let Tess go first."

"You want your precious Queen to return to you alive, then you'd better do what I saw," Alex replied, the smirk that had graced his lips replaced by a cool, thin-lipped smile. "You're not the one calling the shots."

Max nodded, his eyes traveling to Tess. "It's this way," he said at last.

"Are you out of your mind?" Tess asked, her voice rising in pitch until she was practically screeching. The blindfold prevented her from seeing Max, but she inclined her head in the direction of his voice. "You _can't_ let them have the Granolith."

"Keep quiet," the Seeker snapped, moving to backhand her. Unable to see, she could not duck the blow, and her head reeled backwards. She gasped in pain, but did not cry out.

Max lifted one hand to attack the Seeker, but Alex quickly interceded. Placing a hand on Tess' throat, he said softly, mockingly, "Do you think you can kill the Seeker, Zan, before I kill her?"

Max dropped his arm. "Take the blindfold off. She can't hurt you with her eyes."

Alex considered this for a moment, then said, "Very well. I'll take the blindfold off, on the condition that you, Ava darling, don't speak. Spare us the infliction of your voice." His words become icy as he added, "Or I may just go back on our deal."

"What are you do worried she'll say?" Max asked softly. "Does she have some secret that you don't want us to know?"

Tess hesitated. She knew that Khivar was worried that she'd tell Max and Michael that the skin king and the Seeker were planning on double crossing them. It had been a risky move on their part to confide that information to her, but she knew it had only been done in the heat of the moment. Not they had to deal with the consequences.

She wanted to tell Max and Michael, to warn them. But if she did, Khivar might just kill her. And that would not help anyone. She couldn't risk getting herself killed, because then Khivar and the Seeker would have no reason not to just kill Michael and Max. She had to stay alive so she could fight.

Which meant, no matter how much she may want to, she couldn't speak. She had to hold her silence, and let things play out.

Improvise.

"It's fine," Tess heard herself saying. "I won't talk."

A moment later, a rough pair of hands pulled the scratchy cloth away from her face, and she blinked into the morning light. She took a moment to survey the scene, her eyes traveling over Max's flushed face to Michael's guarded expression, to Alex's smirk, to the Seeker's threatening eyes.

She really hoped that Max knew what he was doing.

With the Seeker gripping tightly at her wrist, she followed Max towards the pod chamber. Once, she saw Michael glance at his watch, and wondered why the time mattered. She tried to catch Max's gaze, but he refused to look at her. Sighing, she turned her attention to the rocks beneath her feet, and climbed in silence.

The soft creak of footsteps on rocks, so quiet she'd almost missed it, caught Tess' attention, and she changed a look back in time to see something slip out of sight. Another alien? A human? A desert animal? She wasn't sure.

They stopped outside the pod chamber, and Michael gave Max and almost imperceptible nod. It was all about clockwork now…

Max raised his hand and ran it over the rock, revealing the glowing handprint. The rock surface slid slowly backward, opening the entrance to the darkness of the cave.

They'd crossed the final line now, and there was no going back.

* * *

Maria had come within about twenty feet of the group of aliens, when common sense kicked in, and she stopped running. Whatever was going on, she couldn't get involved in it, or she ran the risk of screwing everything up. She didn't know exactly what was going on, but clearly something alien was happening.

She hid herself behind a rock outcropping and listened to the exchange of words, her mouth falling open in shock when she realized what had happened. They were making a trade… to get Tess back.

But not Alex.

The anger bubbled within her. Why weren't they doing anything for him? Why weren't they trying to save him?

They were moving away from her now, and she crept after them, clinging to the shadows, trying to remain inconspicuous. Once, Tess glanced backwards, and she wasn't sure whether or not the blonde hybrid had seen her. Tess said nothing, just continued walking, and Maria too pressed on, wondering what would happen next.

They stopped at the cave, and she watched in surprise as Max opened the entrance.

What was going on?

"The Granolith is in there," she heard Max say. "Give Tess to us now."

"You know," Alex answered, his expression twisted into cold triumph, "I don't think I will." And he turned to Tess, hand raised, glowing with white and green dots, tiny specks of energy that would kill her instantly if they connected with her skin. She cried out, struggling to move away, but the Seeker held her firmly in place, refusing to let her escape. Max screamed out, a look of pure terror on his face, and beside him, Michael moved forward threateningly.

Maria had no idea what she was doing. She'd moved before she could even register that she _was_ moving, and burst from her hiding place. Jumping forward, she tackled the Seeker and Tess, knocking them to the ground just as the flash of energy left Alex's hand and struck the rock where they had been only moments before. The rock exploded into tiny shattered pieces that littered the ground.

For a moment, nothing happened. No one moved, no one even dared to breath. Then Tess had yanked free of the Seeker's grip and pulled herself and Maria to their feet. Shoving the human girl in front of her, she scrambled for cover behind the nearest large rocks.

The entrance to the pod chamber was still open.

"You lying son of a…" Max slammed both hands forward, knocking Alex off his feet. His entire body was crackling with pent up electricity and his eyes had darkened to a dangerous black.

Alex waved a hand, throwing Max to the ground. He pulled himself to his feet and eyed the two hybrids contemptuously. "And you're a fool for actually thinking I would carry through."

Behind the rock, Maria turned to Tess and whispered, "You have to go help them!"

"I can't," Tess explained, holding up her wrist. "This bracelet, it's preventing me from using my powers. I can't get it off…" The sound of explosions caused her to look up in time to see Michael fly backwards and hit his head against a rock, momentarily stunned. "No…"

Maria looked at Michael, then at Tess. They had to do something, but what?

Meanwhile, the Seeker advanced on Michael. Max struggled over to his friend, trying to defend the fallen hybrid against both Khivar and the Seeker.

Maria glanced down at the bracelet on Tess' arm and frowned. Reaching up into her hair, she pulled out to bobby pins and snapped them in half. Holding the broken pieces of thin metal, she reached for Tess' arm.

"What are you doing?" Tess asked, confused.

"Picking the lock," Maria replied as though it was obvious, rolling her eyes and focusing on the bracelet. "It's an alien contraption, and I doubt Khivar was really worried that you would be able to pick it…" Sure enough, the bracelet fell away a moment later.

Khivar, an alien who despised all humans as weak, would not have known that simply locks could be easily broken. He would have made the bracelet so that it could not be removed by her own powers, of by those of the other hybrids, but he would not have protected himself against the skills of pathetic humans. And that was the very reason the bracelet wouldn't fail.

Tess briefly reflected on the irony of that.

Then she stood up and used her newfound powers to throw the Seeker away from Max and Michael.

"Maria, stay here," Tess instructed as she leapt into the fray.

Her first aim was to close the entrance to the cave. They could not afford to lose Khivar inside, or he might gain access to the Granolith and escape. Once she had completed that task, she turned and rushed to Max's side, ready to fight.

And then several things happened at once.

Michael rose to his feet, clambering unsteadily but with the air of someone who refused to give up. He lifted his gaze to the Seeker, and raised a hand.

Alex twisted his fist in a strange movement, using his powers to telekinetically choke Max. Deprived of oxygen, the hybrid king fell to his knees, gasping.

The cry of "Max!" caught Maria's attention, and she turned to see Liz appear, as though out of nowhere, on the rocks below them.

Max caught sight of Liz, and felt as though someone had just removed the ground from underneath his feet. What was she doing here? How could she be here? It was bad enough that Maria had shown up, but now Liz… what if they got hurt? He couldn't protect them all.

Alex, too, turned towards Liz, and that momentary distraction was all Tess needed to strike the skin king with the back of her open palm. He faltered, losing his concentration, and Max was able to breath again.

Liz climbed the last few steps and raced towards Max, ignoring the danger all around her. She bent down next to him, pulling him to his feet and pushing him away from the fight. "Take a breath," she instructed. "Just focus on breathing."

Max gasped, but nodded. The world was fading in and out of focus, the lack of oxygen screwing up his vision. Behind Liz, he saw Tess fighting to keep Alex at bay, saw Michael battling with the Seeker. He had to get back to them.

"No," Liz said, shaking her head as she read Max's thoughts. "You're not any help to them until you are breathing again, and you know that." She glanced to the left, saw Maria, and her eyes widened. But she pushed her confusion about her friend's presence out of mind; now was not the time for questions. "Stay here, with Maria, until you can stand on your own," Liz ordered.

Max wanted to protest, but the lack of oxygen made him to weak to argue. Liz did have a point.

And then he watched as the brunette did something incredibly brave and incredibly stupid. Picking up a heavy rock, she threw it with all her might, striking the Seeker in the stomach. The alien fell to hands and knees, and Michael used the momentary respite to come to Tess' aid. He and the blonde hybrid managed to overpower Alex, pushing him away. He staggered backwards at the same time the Seeker struggled back to his feet.

"Liz, take Maria and get out of here," Michael called over his shoulder, sparing a quick look of concern for Max. He didn't like the pale blue tinge to the king's lips. Max was still gasping for breath… that was not a good sign. How much damage had Khivar done?

Liz didn't argue. Maria seemed about to protest, but Liz grabbed her hand and pulled her away from the fighting. She'd taken only a few steps when another figure appeared before her, and she froze, eyes widening in surprise.

It was Matt.

He was staring at them, his face pale, his eyes filled with horror and confusion and fear. But his gaze traveled beyond Liz and Maria, settling on Tess, who was throwing bolts of energy at the Seeker.

"What the hell…?"

Tess turned at the sound of his voice, and met his gaze across the rocks and sand. She opened her mouth, lips parting slightly as though there was something she wanted to say. But he wasn't looking at her face anymore, he'd shifted his stare to her glowing hands.

The Seeker moved towards Tess, but Max had risen from his hiding place and interceded, raising a protective force field around Tess. The Seeker's attack bounced harmlessly off of it.

Tess ran to Matt's side, but he flinched away from her.

"What _are_ you?"

"Matt, I can explain everything later, but you need to get out of here," Tess said. She dragged the human boy behind another set of rocks and gestured for Maria and Liz to follow. It was becoming quickly apparent that even though Max, Michael, and Tess outnumbered the Seeker and Khivar, they were still out a serous disadvantage. They just weren't strong enough, and they didn't have the knowledge or skill to win this fight. Especially since there were only three of them.

Which begged the question, where was Isabel?

"What is going on?" Liz asked as she crouched next to Matt.

"How did you…?" Matt shook his head. "How are you…? What are you?" he repeated, eyes accusing. "God, are you even human?"

"No," Tess said, throwing caution to the winds. "I'm not. But I'm on your side. Max, Michael, and I… we're good. And we're trying to protect you from the other two… they're bad." It was a very simple way of explaining everything, glossing over all the details, but Tess didn't have time to explain everything. She had to get back to Max and Michael before someone died.

"Alex Whitman is evil?" Matt demanded.

"No, he's possessed," Tess replied, and at Matt's incredulous stare, she added, "I'm not kidding. Look… Matt… I just need you to trust me…"

"Why should I?" Matt interrupted.

It was, Tess reflected, a very good question.

"What happened?" Liz asked, cutting into the conversation again. "Tess, what is going on?"

"The Seeker kidnapped me and made a deal with Khivar. The two of them arranged a trade with Max and Michael… me for the Granolith. But Khivar broke the trade and attacked. I don't know if Max and Michael have a plan…" Tess trailed off. She didn't know much of anything right now.

"_What_? What's the Granolith?" Matt asked, confused.

"You were kidnapped?" Liz questioned, surprised.

Tess raised an eyebrow. "Max didn't tell you?"

Before Liz could answer, however, there was a cry, and the four of them turned in time to see Michael fall to the ground. Both Liz and Maria made moves towards him, but Tess held them back, shaking her head.

"Stay here. You're safe. If you go out there, you're just a liability," she ordered, running towards Michael. She didn't look back to see if the humans had listened to her. All she could do was pray.

"Get away from him!" Tess hissed, exploding the rocks at the Seeker's feet, causing him to fall backwards. She bent down next to Michael, searching frantically for signs of life, and felt a rush of relief when he slowly opened his eyes and blinked up at her.

"Tess…?"

"Michael, get up!" Tess instructed, pulling him roughly to his feet.

Michael stared at her, blinking as his vision began to swim before his eyes. There was blood on the front of his shirt, although not enough to indicate a fatal wound. Out of the corner of her eye, Tess saw Max lifting a hand to create a shield of green energy around them. Momentarily safe, she focused on Michael.

"Where's Isabel?" Tess asked urgently. "What's the plan? Michael? Michael, focus! How are we getting out of this?"

Michael stared at her, dazed, then glanced at his watch. "It must be taking longer than she thought…" he whispered.

"What? What is taking longer?"

But instead of answering, Michael sank too the ground, his eyes rolling up into the back of his head as he passed into unconsciousness.

At the same moment, the Seeker thrust one hand towards Max, knocking the hybrid king off balance. The shield around Tess disintegrated as Max struggled to catch his breath from the attack. The Seeker was moving towards Max triumphantly, prepared to finish the battle. Alex had turned his attention to Tess and Michael, now unprotected.

He raised a hand, his fingers dancing with white and green lights, his eyes glittering with cold victory, and Tess, still standing protectively over the fallen Michael, didn't have the chance to defend herself.

It came to her, in a flash of realization.

They were going to die.

"_No!_"

Tess felt something collide with her and she crashed to the ground, her head striking against the pointed rock. Her vision swam before her, and she tried to cling to consciousness, desperately wanting to stay awake. Something heavy was crushing her, and she shoved with all her weight, pushing and pulling, clawing her way free.

On her hands and knees, she stared at the collapsed form in front of her, her eyes going wide with horror. Khivar had thrown a deadly blast of energy at her, and, unprepared as she had been, she surely would have died. But Matt had thrown himself at her, his body falling in front of her, protecting her from certain death…

She reached one trembling hand out towards the wound on his back, towards the blood that was seeping into his clothing. She didn't have to touch him, didn't have to search for a heart beat or breath to know… She could just feel it.

"Tess?"

Liz was there, pulling at her, trying to drag her away from the body, but she didn't understand. She pushed away from Liz, wanting to stay, wanting to hold Matt's hand forever, wanting to turn back time so that this hadn't happened, so that he was still alive.

"No…"

"Tess, he's dead. You can't save him. You need to come. Khivar's going to kill us if we don't move," Liz said, his voice rising in panic.

"No…"

Tess just stared blankly at her boyfriend's dead body as Alex moved towards them, a hand raised to attack. Liz looked up, fearing the worst as she stared into Alex's cold eyes.

"You _murderer_!"

Coming back to reality with the full force of someone who has just seen death, Tess jumped to her feet and flung herself at Alex. Forgetting that she had powers, forgetting that he had powers, forgetting that any harm she did would be felt by their human friend as well, she clawed at his face, her fingernails raking over his skin, her eyes filled with a fanatical light.

"_Tess_!"

"I'll kill you, I'll kill you!" Tess screamed, her voice shaking with emotion.

Liz was pulling at her, trying to drag her away, yelling something about how she couldn't kill Alex. Michael and Max were screaming something as well, but she couldn't quite hear them. It was as though someone had turned down the volume, and everything was just a buzz in her ears. She had no thoughts for anyone except the dead boy at her feet and the skin king before her.

She pulled back her hand, palm filled with white light, ready to kill.

* * *

"What's taking so long?" Kyle asked anxiously, pacing back and forth as he stared at Isabel.

Isabel bit her lip, worried. "I don't know," she admitted. "I can't… I can't seem to get in…" She looked up at the clock, and Kyle followed her gaze.

This plan had to work like clockwork, otherwise everything would fail. And they were running behind schedule. Kyle sucked in a sharp breath and left the room. He didn't want to think about it, didn't want to consider the possibility that they had lost.

"Come on, Isabel," he whispered under his breath as he closed the door behind him. "Hurry."

* * *

_Rath watched as his soldiers moved back and forth across the rocky hills. He fixed his gaze on the distant rising sun, felt the chill of the wind that bit into his bones. One hand fell slowly to the stun gun at his side, and he wrapped his fingers around the cold metal. _

_It had been two days since Vilandra has asked Zan to banish her, and the king had refused the request. He had promised the people a trial for the Princess, but he had postponed it indefinitely. And his action, which clearly showed that he valued his sister over the laws he had enacted, was beginning to rankle with his followers. How could he so easily forgive someone who had betrayed him?_

_Khivar had continually lead troops close to the city, and he was rapidly gaining support. Many who would not have supported him simply because they did not believe in overthrowing royalty had joined his side because he claimed to have the Princess' support. Others had joined because famine and disease were strong convincers. And many had joined because they could see that he was winning, and they simply wanted to be on the winning side._

_The latest attack had been too close to the royal city for comfort, and Rath had lead soldiers out into the surrounding hills, near Khivar's camp, prepared to fight. So here they were, prowling through the night like thieves, like spies, ready to wage war._

_Rath carefully removed the stun gun from its harness and stared at it. The metal was pulsating with energy that rippled through his fingers when he touched it. It was the latest in weaponry, it fed on the energy of whoever held it, thereby allowing itself to continually detonate without needing to be recharged. The blast from it was deadly, and could shatter entire cement walls._

_The royal army had state-of-the-art technology at their disposal. Khivar had rumors and lies and speeches and spies at his._

_A shout brought Rath from his thoughts, and he looked up in time to see a solider fall, hit by some sort of weapon. Then Khivar's rebels appeared, and the royal soldiers surged forward, throwing themselves into the fight. Cries rent the air as the battle began._

_Rath lifted his weapon and thought of Vilandra, and of her betrayal. He had yet to speak to her since her revelation, and though he longed to, he simply did not know what he would say. How could he love her, knowing she had loved someone else? And yet… how could he not love her?_

_It was terrifying impressive, Rath reflected, how many ways there were for people to hurt each other._

* * *

So I know I wasn't going to kill Matt, and I didn't want to, but then, once again, the chapter decided to do what it wanted and disregard my own feelings... 


	30. Weapons of World War Three part two

Title: Providence

Disclaimer: I don't own anything

Author's note: This turned out to be a pretty short (yet still very important) chapter. I thought it was going to be longer, but it wasn't. The next chapter should be longer, though. There is another death in this chapter, by the way.

* * *

Chapter Thirty: Weapons of World War Three (part two)

"_There are so many ways to hurt someone, so many ways to kill," Vilandra murmured as she walked through the small room behind her brother. They were in the king's private armory where he stored all of the most advanced weapons, the ones specifically designed for the royal army to defend themselves._

_Zan frowned and nodded as he watched his sister stare at the weapons. "There are," he agreed. He looked away and added, "Khivar has sent men to the palace to tell me that, if I should choose to banish you, you are always welcome to stay with him."_

_Vilandra raised an eyebrow, not that surprised at Khivar's blatant mocking of the difficult position her brother found himself in. "He is… so kind," she murmured sarcastically._

"_I am sorry for this," Zan whispered, tears pricking his eyes. He did not let them fall, however. He would not cry, not in front of his sister._

"_As am I," Vilandra agreed. "But some things can not be avoided."_

_Zan lifted a small gun-shaped object from the shelf. "Once you have been banished, you will no longer be considered royal, no longer have access to these weapons. So… you must conceal this on your person so that no one sees it. Or they make take it from you. Do you understand?"_

"_Yes, brother," Vilandra murmured. "But that is…" She trailed off and shook her head. This was her brother's most prized weapon, a powerful ray-gun that could split the wings off a fly from over a thousand furlongs away. It was powerful, deadly, precise, and easy to use._

"_It will keep you safe," Zan said, pressing it into her hands. He was still angry, still hurt, still betrayed by what she had done, but she was his sister. And he knew that if he let her leave unsafe, unprotected, and if anything happened to her, he would regret it every moment of every day for the rest of his life. _

_Vilandra felt the heavy weight of the ray-gun settle in her hands. "Safe," she whispered. She did not even know what that word meant anymore. She could no longer remember what it felt like to be safe._

_But she smiled at her brother gratefully, recognizing this for what it was. Her brother, who would never verbally forgive her after so short a time, who would never tell her that he loved her and would miss her when he still felt so betrayed… this was his way of telling her that, no matter what, he would still care about her. They were still siblings._

_She took the gift for what it was, and left the room._

* * *

"No!"

Before Tess could fully attack the skin king, Max barreled into her, catching her by the shoulders and dragging her away. The energy that left her hand smashed harmlessly against the rocks behind Alex, missing their intended target.

"Let me go!" Tess cried, hitting Max in the chest, yanking herself away from his grip.

"Tess, you can't kill him," Max argued, shaking his head. "If you kill him, Alex will die."

"He _killed_ Matt," Tess spat. Nothing else mattered in that moment except that the boy she had so deeply cared about, the boy who manage to make her smile when everything else was going wrong, was dead now. Dead because he had tried to protect her.

Tess shoved Max to the ground, easily stepping around him and facing Alex, who was just rising from where he had fallen during their earlier fight. Eyes alight with inhuman energy, Tess raised her hand again, electricity dancing through her fingers.

Max did the only thing he could do to prevent Tess from making a mistake she would regret for the rest of her life.

He lifted his own hand, and threw her away from Alex, through the air, crashing into the far rocks. She sank to the ground, immobile and unconscious, and Max pulled himself to his feet, staring around him in despair.

Both Tess and Michael were out. Matt was dead, the hybrid king knew even if he rushed to Matt's side now, even if the skin king and the Seeker let him heal the other boy, it would be too late. He could feel it, the rushing wind as a life passed away.

Behind him, Liz and Maria clutched at the rocks, half-hidden, half ready to jump out and fight if need be.

And as Max faced Alex and the Seeker, he realized he was finally all alone.

Isabel had not succeeded in her part of the bargain. Isabel had not come through for them, and the plan was ruined. Everything was about to be lost. There was nothing else to do, Max knew, but fight until he was no longer standing, and pray that he might take the Seeker with him.

And then it happened. The Seeker turned away from Michael and Tess and stared at Alex with a mask of fury and disgust. "You promised no one but the Queen would be hurt! No one but Ava," he spat, shaking with rage.

After his conversation with the hybrid forms of Ava and Zan, the Seeker had realized that he could not hold the others accountable for whatever the Queen had done. He still wanted his revenge on Ava, no matter that she said she did not remember any of what he hated her for. But the other hybrids and their human friends were to go free.

The plan had been to create an exchange, Ava for the Granolith. Then, once the Granolith had been revealed to Khivar, the skin king would attack the others, giving the Seeker plenty of time to kill Ava and activate the Granolith. The two of them would escape, leaving the broken Royal Three behind. Without Ava, they were no threat to Khivar's rule, and without the Granolith, they would never be able to leave Earth anyway. Once the two had returned to Antar, Khivar could reclaim his throne and rule without interference, and he would hide the Seeker in one of the far regions of his planet where the Intergalactic Council could never find him, never punish him for killing Ava.

It was the perfect plan, and it would have been easily completed had Khivar followed through with his half.

Alex turned to the Seeker with a look a mocking triumph. "I lied," he said simply. Shaking his head, he laughed cruelly and added, "Did you really think that I would ever agree to your terms? I want the Royal Four dead, all of them. And anyone who stands in my way can join them."

"You liar! How dare you use Lessa's death for your own aims. Have you no shame?" the Seeker snarled. He raised a hand to attack the skin king, but Alex carelessly tossed his adversary towards the far rocks. The Seeker crumbled to his knees, stunned, and blinked to clear his blurry vision as Alex advanced on him, momentarily forgetting Max and the two human girls.

Max glanced behind him. "Maria, Liz, get out of here," he ordered, praying that they would escape safely.

Liz was staring at Alex, eyes wide with horror, and she shook her head. "No…" Not without Alex. Not without preventing her best friend from killing another person. Even though he was being possessed, she could see a small reflection of Alex himself staring out of those blue eyes, and she knew how much it must have hurt him to watch someone else use his own body to kill… and be powerless to stop it.

Alex's next words caught everyone by surprise, and they focused intently on what he was saying, everything else abruptly forgotten.

"I had Lessa killed, you fool," the skin king declared. "Every tiny part of her death was intended for my benefit. I ordered my spies in the palace to murder her, I told Vilandra I would meet her in that garden and convinced one of the servants to ensure that Ava was there as well. So that Vilandra, who I had convinced that Ava and I were working together to overthrow the king, would believe the Queen had murdered in cold blood. I spread the rumors to sow discord. When I saw that Vilandra was wavering in her loyalty to me, I convinced the Antarian public to call for the Princess' banishment or death so that she would be forced to join my side. Do you really think I care for you or Lessa? You are a means to an end, and you are an idiot to think yourself anything more than that! You ask me about shame? About regret? The only thing I regret in any of this was that I was forced to use my Vilandra, the woman I loved, as a pawn in this game. I care _nothing_ for you!" And he spun abruptly, facing Max, face flushed with anticipation and passion, eyes flashing with light, hand glittering with white dots of power. "And now, my _King_, I will end your pathetic life… again."

Time stopped. Max saw the energy leave his enemy's hand, heard Liz scream out his name, heard Maria's voice fear, saw Michael slowly open his eyes as he crawled back into consciousness, saw the wind rusting through the sand, felt the heavy beating of the rising sun, heard the distant cry of a song bird.

Heard the shout, like a wounded animal, the strange, inhuman howl that broke from the Seeker's lips, filling the air, echoing off the stones.

"_Murderer_!"

And then, somehow, the Seeker stood before Max, protecting him from Alex's attack, catching the energy on his chest, collapsing to the ground like a dying swan, his mouth parted slightly, the single word escaping his throat, a faint whisper rushing to the heavens.

"Lessa…"

And Max felt the rush of grief and pain, the fluttering of another soul leaving, and knew the Seeker was dead.

And he was still alive, still standing, still facing the surprised skin king, still ready to fight.

But before he could do anything, Alex doubled over, clutching his head and crying out in pain. The world spun around him, a whirlwind of color and light. The desert fell away, the clear sky turned pitch black, the air became heavy and damp, like wet cotton.

From far away, he heard the brunette human's scared voice call out, "What's happening to him?"

Someone else replied something, but he didn't catch it. Reality was gone, and he was falling through the nothingness of space, over and over and over, just falling, until…

He stopped. He was standing in the middle of nothing. A great expanse of empty blackness, a never-ending void, empty of everything save darkness and silence.

And then a voice, soft and gentle, but underlined with steel, broke through his confused thoughts, and he turned around to find…

"Hello, Khivar."

Isabel was standing there, staring back at him, ready for a fight.

* * *

"_Why have you not spoken to your betrothed yet?" Ava demanded, marching into Rath's personal chambers and glaring at her husband's second-in-command._

_Rath, who was standing at the window, staring broodingly at the sinking sun, spun around at his Queen's voice and bowed his head in greeting. "What do you mean, your Majesty?" he asked, feigning ignorance._

"_She asked her brother to exile her. You may never see her again. Are you so proud that you refuse even to say goodbye to the woman you love?" Ava snapped furiously. She felt guilty about what was happening, what the Princess would be forced to lose. She knew Vilandra had a lot to answer for, but were any of them so innocent in this entire mess? The world was not black and white, and Vilandra would be forced to pay a price that outweighed her crime._

"_She loves him," Rath murmured. "She loves Khivar. She could go to him and be… happy."_

"_She loves you," Ava countered, wondering why men were so incredibly dense. How could they not see the truth that stood right before their eyes? But Vilandra had hurt Rath badly, and she knew it was foolish to hope that the two would be able to reconcile in such a short amount of time. Still… They needed to at least attempt the amends… before it was too late._

"_She betrayed all of us to him," Rath suddenly exploded, his eyes narrowing with anger and disgust. "Have you forgotten what rumors she spread about you… and your child?"_

_Ava flushed a crimson red and rested one hand on her stomach, feeling the baby kick. No, she had not forgotten that Vilandra had been responsible for the beginnings of the rumor that she was sleeping with Khviar… that Khivar was truly the father of her child._

_But Vilandra had not spread the rumor to be vicious. She had believed it, because she had believed Khivar._

"_I have not forgotten," Ava said softly. "Neither have I forgotten that she was only trying to do what was best for her planet. And we did not help her make that decision…"_

"_You are too forgiving, your Majesty. Too trusting."_

_Ava allowed herself a light smile. "Perhaps," she agreed. "But perhaps it is you who does not forgive enough."_

* * *

Several years ago, the United States enacted the Strategic Defense Initiative, which was essentially a plan to help protect the country against its enemies. Part of this Initiative is the Extended Range Interceptor (ERI), an anti-missile program meant to intercept enemy missiles that have been fired at the US before they have a chance to reach their target and kill us all.

The thing is, the ERI doesn't actually work, and it is going to need a lot more money, time, and effort before it will. There have been numerous debates about whether our government should sink several million dollars into trying to perfect it.

One side of the debate says that, since we are the ones who invented the nuclear missile, we have a responsibility to the world to devise a way of protecting against it. After all, nuclear war is not just a threat to the countries involved in the war. If a nuclear war is ever started, it has the potential to destroy the entire world. In that scenario, even the winners end up losing.

On the other hand, a lot of people ask why we would put so much money into this project? What is the point in creating a better shield for ourselves? Will it really help protect us from our enemies?

After all, if we build a bigger shield, they're just going to build a bigger gun.


	31. Blood Count

Title: Providence

Disclaimer: I don't own anything

Author's note: This was a difficult chapter to write because I wanted to get the relationship between Isabel and Khivar exactly right, and it ended up being pretty long. I'm not completely happy with it, but I figured if I keep rewriting it, I'd never get it posted. So here it is.

* * *

Chapter Thirty-One: Blood Count

Nobody ever keeps a tallies of good deeds and bad deeds. The greatest of the bad deeds, the true evil… genocide, slavery, mass murder… those we all remember. They get written in the history books, and if anyone asks, you can say that Auschwitz was a concentration camp, that the Southern United States had slavery until 1861, that many, many people died in the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1941.

And the greatest of the good deeds get remembered and recorded as well.

Martin Luther King. Mahatma Gandhi. Susan B. Anthony. Mother Teresa.

Those are names most American children have heard about, have read about, before.

But the little things… the dollar you give to the homeless man on the street, the unthinking insult you snap at your best friend, the hour you spend helping a friend study for a test, the sullen mood you fall into when your mother refuses to let you use the car… who counts those?

There are very few great people in the world. Very few truly evil, very few amazingly good. We're mostly a combination of small goods and small evils that never make it to the news, never get written about in magazine articles, never get mentioned beyond the small confines of our community.

And yet, those very small deeds we do make us who we are. And we don't even think about them, after they've past. We remember some, but the majority of defining moments are too small, too seemingly insignificant, that they fade into forgotten memory.

It doesn't matter how we get to wherever it is that we end up. Most of the time, the only thing that really matters is that we _are_ here.

* * *

"Well, well, well… my beautiful Vilandra." Khivar crossed his arms over his chest and stared at Isabel with a soft smile, remembering her other self, her other half. Remembering the person she used to be, before her death.

"I'm not yours, and I'm not Vilandra," Isabel replied calmly, although her heart was beating frantically. She could hear a ringing in her ears, the heavy pressure of her terror.

"Really? I beg to differ on that one," Khivar answered. He stepped close to her, and ran his hand lightly over her arm. "I remember how we met. It was such an accident and I was so furious when I found out who you were… I never wanted to see you again. But destiny brought us together, time after time. No matter how hard either of us tried to run… We were enemies, but I loved you. And you loved me."

Isabel shivered, feeling the crawling feeling rising up her spine. Her breath was uneven, and her skin was hot to the touch, her body reacting to Khivar's close presence.

"I don't love you," she said forcefully, stepping away from him. "You killed us all, and here you are trying to do it again."

"I never wanted you to die," Khivar replied, watching her move into the void. He didn't follow her, sensing that it was not a good time to get so close to her. She was still unwilling to believe what he knew was true… she loved him.

"And yet I did die," Isabel drawled, rolling her eyes. "And it would have been very little comfort to me if you spared my life, and yet let my brother, my sister-in-law, and my betrothed all be murdered."

"Would you like to know what your brother and your betrothed were like?" Khivar asked maliciously. "Would you like to know how they didn't trust you? Would you like to know how they never told you anything that was going on? How they kept secrets from you?"

"And that excuses me betraying them?" Isabel asked bitterly. "I would never do that in this lifetime, no matter what they did."

Khivar actually laughed. "My dear Vilandra, how naïve you are. You didn't betray your brother and betrothed because you were upset or angry with them… you betrayed them because you knew it was the right thing to do. You could see what was happening to our planet… what Zan was doing to us all… and you knew that you had to change it. You helped me, because I trusted you. I confided in you. I answered your questions, told you what you wanted to know."

Isabel felt a sudden memory tug at her consciousness. She and Zan were arguing, and he wasn't listening to her, wasn't telling her anything, didn't trust her…

Another memory, this time of only yesterday. Khivar had come to the house, telling them of Tess' kidnapping, of the deal. Max had been angry and scared, and she'd tried to reassure him, but…

_Isabel touched his arm, sending him a gently reassuring glance. "We'll figure this out," she whispered, although she hardly believed the words herself. _

_"Will we?" Max replied. He stood up abruptly and looked over at Michael. "Any ideas?" _

He hadn't listened to her. He'd turned away.

"Do you understand now, Princess? You didn't betray him anymore than he betrayed you," Khivar murmured.

"What about Tess?" Isabel asked abruptly. She frowned at Khivar, trying to push away the other memories, trying to focus on the here and the now. She still didn't know how she was going to push him out of Alex's mind, but as long as she could keep him here, keep him focused on her, then it would give Max and Michael time to escape with Tess.

"What about her?" Khivar asked. He smiled softly as he watched Isabel playing with a strand of hair as she tried to organize her thoughts. She looked very much like Vilandra at that moment, very much like the woman he loved.

"You said my brother and my betrothed did not trust me," Isabel explained. "What about Tess? Ava, I mean. Did she?"

Khivar hesitated, thinking about something she couldn't understand. He had a far away look in his grieving eyes, as though he was remembering something painful and heartbreaking. "She trusted you…" he said, letting the sentence trail off into silence. Finally, he added, "You were friends."

"And I got her killed, didn't I?" Isabel continued, eyes narrowing in anger and disgust. At herself, at Khivar, at this entire situation.

But Khivar's next words surprised her. "No, Lonnie. You did not get her killed." His voice was firm, and filled with barely contained rage. "She got you killed."

Isabel stepped back as though she'd been slapped. That didn't seem possible. Why would Ava have had her killed?

"Your friendship with her destroyed you," Khivar continued, speaking more to himself than to Isabel. "You should have stayed away from her, she was more influential than you ever realized. She wasn't just the court ornament that everyone thought she was, she swayed Zan and Rath in so many of their decisions… and in the end, you paid the price for it."

"She persuaded them not to trust me?" Isabel whispered. She knew she needed to fight Khivar, needed to push him out of Alex's mind, but what he was saying… these answers… she needed them. She needed to understand how everything had gone so wrong. She needed to understand who she was and why she had done what she had done. She needed to know everything… because she couldn't live with herself, with what she knew she had once done, if she didn't know the truth.

"No," Khivar replied bitterly, ironically. "She persuaded them to trust you. _That_ was your downfall."

Isabel swallowed and looked away. She wasn't getting clear answers, they were too convoluted by all of Khivar's hidden meanings, secrets, and lies.

So she did the only thing she could.

She fought back.

Khivar was not prepared for the burst of energy that left her outstretched palm, for the way she threw him through the air, for the heavy crash onto the ground that knocked the wind out of him.

"Get out of Alex's body," she ordered tersely. "And don't come back."

"Why?" Khivar asked, pulling himself to his feet. "I thought you liked Alex better when he was really me?"

Isabel narrowed her eyes and spat, "I was attracted to you, I won't deny that. But like you? Hardly. I despise you. After everything you've done to us…" She stopped suddenly and shook her head. "No, I won't start another conversation with you. I'm not here to talk. Leave now… or I will force you out."

"Always so proud," Khivar mocked. "Do you really think you have the power?"

"Do you really think I don't?" Isabel demanded. She attacked him again, but this time Khivar was prepared, and he raised a shield, absorbing the force of her energy and throwing his own back at her.

Isabel dodged the attack, but her movement left her slightly unbalanced, and Khivar took that opportunity to rush to her side. Grabbing her by the upper arms, he held her tight, preventing her from moving. She felt a burning sensation under his fingers, and stared into his deep eyes.

And, quite suddenly, he kissed her.

The force of the kiss sent her reeling into a series of brief flashes and emotions, a wild rollercoaster ride of glimpses of her past.

_Zan and her, how they used to be. Siblings… friends… confidants…"You have advisors, Zan. You have Rath. Why do you continually pester me with all these questions? Why not ask them?" _

_ "I have. And I've asked Ava as well. But I want your opinion, Lonnie. You are my sister, why you think matters to me." _

_Khivar, and his rage when he first learned who she was. "Your brother's guards would kill me in a heartbeat if they knew where I was. What do you think I am doing? I'm hiding… _Your Majesty_." _

_Her own indecision, her own love for him. "And what if my head and my heart are telling me different things?" _

_ The first time she truly heard Zan distrust her, the words that had hurt her so much, that had finally sent her to Khivar's side. "You fear Khivar or his men will attack her? Or do you fear they will persuade her to help them? Manipulate her so that she does not realize what she is doing?" _

_"I don't know what I fear. But sometimes… sometimes I fear her." _

_Khivar's reasoned understanding of her fears of and for her planet. His concern and love and caring. "Then let me show you. Let me show you what I am doing, and you can see for yourself if you agree or disagree with my methods and my beliefs." _

_Ava's anger, red hot and burning, leaping from her fiery eyes. "How dare you? Don't you ever speak to me like that! You are out of line!" _

_Her own derisive answer. "I beg your pardon… _your Majesty_." _

_Ava, the first to understand how she felt, the first she could speak to about all this… "What happened, Lonnie? When did we stop being friends?" _

_ "When did Zan and Rath stop trusting me, Ava? When did they think I was too emotional to be taken seriously? When did you start agreeing with them?" _

_Rath walking away, refusing to look at her, refusing to listen to her pleas. Refusing her. "Rath, I'm sorry. Please, don't leave me." _

_ "I didn't leave you. You left me." _

_And the question her brother had asked, the question she had responded with. The question that even now, even if in a different body in a different life, she wanted an answer to. _

_"You told him enough, Lonnie. How can I trust you now?" _

_"Why did you never trust me before?" _

She shoved Khivar away from her and stepped back, eyes wide and frantic. "Don't touch me!" she spat, shaking with rage and some other emotion she could not quite explain. She felt it, the electricity that burned when they touched, the chemistry crackling in the air between them. She felt it… and it terrified her.

"I love you, and they didn't," Khivar said. "Why do you fight me? Come with me, come back to Antar, and I'll let Alex go."

"Let Alex go, and I won't kill you," Isabel countered.

"Is that supposed to scare me?" Khivar asked. "You can't kill me, Vilandra, no matter how much you try. You can't kill me because it will kill Alex as well."

"Maybe, but I can get you out of here," Isabel threatened, taking a step closer to him. "I can get you out of Alex's mind, and far away from here…" She smirked at him, but he didn't seem to worried by her threats.

"Lonnie, darling," he drawled, "Don't you think that would be rather pointless? I'd just possess someone else." He had four different humans to chose from; five if you included the Queen's surrogate father. How difficult could it possibly be to enter one of their brains?

"Why would you bother?" Isabel retorted. She'd thought this part of the plan through several times. Max hadn't seemed as concerned about the repercussions of their actions, he just wanted to get Tess back safely. And Michael had been too focused on Max and Tess to think about the questions she was raising during their brief strategic planning the night before… but it had bothered her. What was to stop Khivar from simply possessing someone else?

Michael and Max hadn't listened to her. She knew they were focused on saving Tess and protecting the Granolith, probably the two most immediate of the problems. But the fact that they had ignored her when she raised those points… it felt strange… a sort of déjà vu.

And if Khivar was right about what he'd said to her, then she knew why it felt so familiar.

It had happened before.

"Why wouldn't I?" Khivar shot back.

"Because you'd have to start from scratch," Isabel replied coolly. "You can't possess any of us aliens, and once I push your spirit out of Alex, you'll only have a limited amount of time before you either need to find another body, or return to your own. Besides, since you are using so much energy to keep up the possession all the way from Antar, you'd get weak very quickly without a body to reside in. And there are no humans around you now, which means that you don't have any other choice but to recall yourself. And then, to possess one of us again, you'd have to bridge that gap from Antar to Earth… and we'd all be on the lookout for anyone acting strangely… I'd just push you out again and again… it would be a waste of time and effort." She smirked and added, "But you're welcome to do it if you want. Waste all your energy on a plan that will never work."

"Ah… but what makes you think there are no humans around me now?" Khivar replied with a smug look of triumph flashing into his eyes. "There's that pretty little brunette waitress that the King is so enchanted by and the abrasive blonde who held your General's heart for a while…"

Inside, Isabel felt a rising swell of panic. Part of the plan had meant that no humans could be anywhere near Alex when this happened. Would Max have enough common sense to get Maria and Liz out of there? Or would he be too focused on saving Tess?

Keeping her fear tightly controlled and concealed, she answered smoothly, "And by the time I get you out of here, Max will have ensured that Liz and Maria are gone. Or do you think we haven't thought of that already?"

"I think that you have no idea what's happened out there," Khivar answered with a grim smile. "I think your precious king is too busy dealing with the dead to think of anything else."

Isabel felt the world start spinning at his words.

Dead?

Who?

She couldn't ask, couldn't trust herself to look into her enemies eyes and fall apart. And she couldn't let that happen, no matter what. She had to appear strong and forceful, had to bluff. This was not a time for self-doubts.

"And if you really think Max would just let everything fall apart now, then you don't know him that well, do you?" Isabel replied, forcing herself to meet his calculating gaze with a cold smile of her own.

"You don't know the whole truth of what happened on Antar. How do you really know that I am not on your side?" Khivar asked, taking a step towards her.

The air was heavy with the unanswered question, and Isabel felt her insides burning with guilt for what she had been told she had done in the other life, and guilt for what she felt now. But she couldn't quite rationalize away his question, couldn't explain why she knew that some of his words were true.

And then she remembered something Tess had said to her when they first learned how to push Khivar out of Alex's mind, when she'd first been told how she could save them all… how she was the one who would _have to_ save them all. She had been so terrified of becoming Vilandra, this person that she didn't like, didn't ever want to be, and Tess had said…

_Alex needs your help. Do I think you might revert into Vilandra? Yes, it is a definite possibility. Do I think you might end up being a threat to all of us? Of course. But Alex needs your help, you are the only one that can save him, and that's a risk we all have to take. If you turn, we'll come up with a way to save you. If you betray us, we'll deal with that problem when it happens. But this is our only shot, Alex's only chance, and in the end, it really is that simple. _

She looked back at Khivar and she knew that Tess was right.

When this was all over, the doubt would still be there. When this was all over, she'd have to face the consequences of what she felt and what she had learned. When this was all over, she would have to blindly find her way back to the person she wanted to be, the person she could live with.

But right now, all that mattered was this moment, this one task in front of her.

It really was that simple.

And she attacked Khivar. She channeled her fear and her rage and her anger into her hands, letting it flow from her outstretched fingertips like a fiery explosion of emotion. Khivar raised his hands to stop her, letting his own stream of pure white energy collide with hers. For a moment, the two torrents of energy hovered, twisting, writhing, pulsating with an internal rhythm, and she felt the air grow warm, heard the rush of wind, as her energy started to slowly drain.

Visions passed in front of her eyes. She could see the Roswell desert, the brilliantly blue sky and the rising sun, the rock formations rising from the sand, and Max and Michael, standing slowly, staring at something. Beyond them, she caught a glimpse of blonde hair falling over a still body, the shaking sobs of grief echoing in the silence.

Then she saw something else. A different sky, familiar and foreign and exotic, and the strangely sweet smell of the air that she once breathed in another life. Distant smoke rose over the horizon, billowing towards the sky, and the ground beneath her was shaking with the rage of war. She smelled the metallic scent of blood.

For a moment, she saw Michael staring at her, flickering in and out of existence. But he wasn't Michael, not quite. There was something different, wiser and older and just… different.

"I love you," the words were whispered in the space between Khivar and Isabel, and she found herself staring into his eyes. But it wasn't quite him. It was a younger version, the one she knew Vilandra had fallen in love with, and she could see why. His personality seemed to crackle in the air, although he had barely spoken any words. And she thought of Michael… or Rath… so distant from her, always somewhere else in his thoughts.

The energy between their hands shook and she fell to her knees. Her strength was giving out and what if she couldn't do this? What if…

What if she failed?

What if she wanted to fail? What if she wanted Khivar?

But she didn't… she loved Michael… Rath… whatever his name was. And she loved her brother and Tess… Ava… and Alex. She had to save them, for everyone's sake. And for her own. She had to do this, she had to be strong enough.

Alex…

He was standing in front of her suddenly, and she looked into his calm blue eyes and encouraging smile and wondered what she had ever done to deserve someone as unassumingly sweet and dedicatedly loyal as Alex. She would always love him, even if she wasn't in love with him, and she would not let him remain in this prison, trapped within his own body.

She saw Michael again, and Tess. They joined Alex, staring at her in silence, willing her to win this fight. And then there was Liz and Maria and Kyle and Jim…

And Max.

Zan.

Ava.

Rath.

The Four Square.

Her family.

The final explosion erupted around her, but she never heard it. Her thoughts had drifted away and she was staring off into the brilliant white flash of light that consumed everything without actually seeing any of it. She didn't feel the heat that scorched her skin and hair, didn't hear the cry coming from Khivar or her own mimicking gasp, didn't see the ripple of energy exploding between them.

Everything was gone, except this one moment, when she saw the four of them, Max, Michael, Tess, and herself, standing there, together, complete. They were staring at her, standing opposite her in this void of nothing. She knew they weren't really there, couldn't really be there. They were just memories that she had conjured, phantoms to help her find the strength to complete this last task.

Max and Tess stood back and Michael walked forward and extended a hand. She reached to take it, to touch the fingers of a man she knew was just a faded echo, knowing her fingers would pass through his palm.

She saw Khivar disappearing, suddenly heard the roar of energy, the crackle of electricity, the pounding of her own strength finally giving way.

There was a final flash of a vision, and she saw her own broken, bloodied body lying on the ground in the center of a town she did not recognize, on a planet she had never been to, and knew she was witnessing Vilandra's final demise. The air was filled with smoke, and she heard the distance cries and felt her own lungs gasping for air as the vision-Vilandra took her last shuddering breath…

And then it was gone, and she was falling through white emptiness until everything disappeared and she remembered nothing else.

* * *

"Liz, Maria, get out of here," Max ordered, his eyes still focused on Alex. He could see the internal battle waging in Alex's eyes, knew that Isabel was close to severing the link that held Khivar here, and although the world was crashing down around him, although Tess was sobbing uncontrollably over the body of her dead boyfriend, although Michael was sprawled semi-conscious on the ground, he still remembered the plan, still remembered how important it was.

During their planning, Isabel had worried that Khivar would just possess someone else, and he hadn't really listened to her. But he remembered those words now, and he knew that Liz and Maria being here put them in danger.

"But…" Maria began.

Max did not let her finish. He spun to face her, his face pale and filled with fear and determination. "Maria, I do not have time to explain this, but if you are here when Khivar leaves Alex, he will take you or Liz instead. You put us all in danger… you put _Alex_ in danger… if you stay."

"But he needs us," Liz protested, taking a step towards Alex as she watched the pain rolling through his eyes.

"You will kill him if you stay!" Max hissed. "You will kill us all."

"Max…"

Max sprung forward and grabbed Liz's arm, forcing her to look at him, to meet his burning gaze. "Trust me," he said, his voice shaking with power and determination and confidence. "Liz, _trust me_."

For a moment, she just stared at him, brown eyes wide, mouth partially open. This was not the Max she remembered, this was someone different, someone stronger, more sure of himself. His grip on her arm was not the gentle guiding diffidence she was used to, but a crushing grasp. And his eyes, his words, were not pleas.

He was giving orders.

She looked at Alex.

This was a different Max, and yet it wasn't. He was not her Max anymore, but he was still Max, and in the end, she still trusted him.

"Maria, come on…" Liz murmured, gesturing for her friend to follow her.

Maria stared at her in surprise and disbelief, but allowed herself to be lead away. When the two were finally gone, Max turned back to Tess, still kneeling in the sand, still clutching Matt's hand as though her touch alone could bring him back to life.

"He's gone, Tess," Max murmured, kneeling next to her, placing a hand on her shoulder, trying to comfort her. She didn't hear his words, didn't register his presence. Her blue eyes saw nothing but Matt, and Max knew she was too lost in her own world to understand him.

He glanced back at Alex. The human boy had fallen to his knees and was now clutching his head. He was writhing in pain, twisting and turning, grabbing at pieces of his hair, and Max only wished he could help him somehow. Take away the pain.

But he couldn't.

This was Isabel's battle, and there was nothing he could do until it was finished.

He stepped over to Michael, extending his hands over his best friend's bruised body, and feeling the bones and skin and muscles knit back together as the healing energy flowed from his palms.

Michael cracked open an eye. "What…?"

Before Max could answer, Alex had fallen forward, his body surrounded in a pale light. He was screaming and rolling over and over, flailing his arms, slamming into rocks, still screaming in a unnaturally high-pitched voice.

And then he was still, and the light was gone.

Max rushed to his side and placed one hand on Alex's head, the other on Alex's chest. The human was neither breathing, nor was his heart beating. His face was frozen in a look of horror, eyes wide open, staring unseeingly at the blue sky.

Max closed his eyes, his own energy almost drained, and slowly, ever so slowly, brought Alex back to life.

* * *

_Vilandra was banished, and went from the royal city to Larek's planet where she would spend her banishment in his castle. Zan watched from the window of his own palace as a streak of light brushed across the sky, the ship that carried his sister far away. Ava stood behind him, her hand wrapped tightly around his own, giving him her strength. _

_Rath stood alone in the throne room at the time his betrothed was scheduled to depart. He had not spoken to her since their argument in the snow, since he had told her that he could not love her since she had loved Khivar. Since she'd fallen to her knees, begging for his forgiveness, and he'd turned his back and walked away. _

_His pride was wounded, and he could not forgive her yet. _

_In the solitude of the spaceship that carried her far away from everything she had ever loved, Vilandra clutched the small weapon Zan had given her, the small token of his love, and she wept. _


	32. How the End Begins

Title: Providence

Disclaimer: I don't own anything

Author's note: So this chapter takes place completely on Antar. The song is _Ending Start_ by _Metric_. See my Author's note at the end of this chapter for additional comments.

Also, the chapter ended up being really, _really_ long. Sorry about that, there just wasn't a good place to break it up, and I didn't want to turn it into two parts.

* * *

How the End Begins

_All this that is more than a wish is a memory  
All this that is ceases to be  
All is revealed…  
_

_Gave them our reactions, our explosions all that we are  
For graphs of passion and charts of stars  
How ending starts  
Ending starts with answers_

_--"Ending Start" _by_ Metric_

"There is someone here to see you," Larek announced, entering the Princess' room.

Vilandra looked up from where she was sitting on the chair next to her bed. It had been almost three months since she had left her home planet, three months since she had seen any of her family. She wondered often how her brother was faring, and her betrothed. And Ava. She would be quite far along in her pregnancy now, how much longer until the baby was born?

"Who is it?" Vilandra asked, straightening slowly. She had very few friends on this planet, and none of them would have asked Larek to come to her first. She sincerely doubted that it was Zan or Rath, and Ava would not travel because of the danger to her unborn child.

"A friend," Larek replied, and the disgust in his tone was enough of a warning for Vilandra to know exactly who was about to enter her room.

Still, the warning was not enough to prepare her for the confusion of conflicting emotions that bombarded her as Khivar stepped out from behind Larek.

"You can leave us," Khivar said dismissively to Larek. Larek frowned out him, annoyed at being so easily disregarded in his own palace, but he caught sight of the look in Vilandra's eyes and left the room, shutting the door behind him, an praying silently that the Princess knew what she was doing.

"What are you doing here, Khivar?" Vilandra asked, turning away from him and walking to the window. She stared through the glass, not seeing anything, just needing to keep her eyes away from this man. She could still feel his presence all around her, making her entire body tremble.

"Can a man not visit the woman he loves?" Khivar replied. He took another step into the room, then seemed to think better of approaching Vilandra. "I have not seen you in months, Princess, and I was… concerned… about your wellbeing."

Vilandra gave a bitter laugh. "Larek takes very good care of me," she replied.

"Of course he does," Khivar conceded. "Larek is a good man." He ran a hand through his hair, then said, "I have requested a conference with your brother. So that we may discuss an end to the hostilities," Khivar said. "He is… reluctant to agree. I was hoping perhaps you would speak to him on my behalf? For the good of Antar."

Vilandra glanced at him for a moment, taking in the lines of his face, the gentle turn of his mouth, his carefully neutral eyes. "I doubt he will listen to me," she retorted. "You may have better luck on your own, without reminding him of his traitorous sister."

"You are not a traitor," Khivar murmured instantly, reaching out a hand towards Vilandra. She stared at him, then backed away, shaking her head. Khivar let his hand fall with a sigh. "Lonnie…"

"How did Lessa Du'vale die?" She had not meant to ask the question, but now that the words had left her lips, she knew she wanted the answer.

Khivar stared at her for a long time, a contemplative look on his face. "I do not know," he said. "I heard the rumors everyone else did, but I… well, I find it difficult to believe that Ava would have killed her in cold blood. The Queen is not a murderer."

"My brother thinks you killed her and perpetuated the lie about Ava," Vilandra said, still scrutinizing Khivar's face.

"Your brother in content to blame everything that happens on me. I can honestly say that I did not kill this servant-girl."

"Perhaps," Vilandra said at last, "but it is your fault. This war killed her, and you are the instigator."

Khivar shook his head. "Are you now so blinded by your brother that you would blame me for all the evils in the world as well?" he asked, words harsh and full of sudden anger. "Your brother ruined this planet. He took away everything about it that made it Antar and turned it into some foreign, advanced… _sterile_ place that we no longer recognize! I try my best to preserve what makes us unique, what makes us Antarians, and he sees me as the evil one? And even now, when I would speak to him and end this fighting, he refuses to see me. He will not end this, he is too proud to admit that he may have been even partially wrong. It is his fault that Lessa Du'vale is dead, his fault and your beloved Rath's as well."

Vilandra tightened her arms across her chest and backed away from Khivar, eyes widening at the sight of his rage. She'd never seen it directed on her this way, and it was suddenly terrifying. And his words… she knew that there was some truth to them, that her brother was too proud for his own good, that he was turning this planet into something it wasn't… But he was doing it for the good of everyone. There was no other way, that was what he had told her.

"He keeps information from you, does not trust you, does not seek your advice, and then banishes you, and you still defend him?" Khivar asked, incredulous. "I know that he is your brother, but the ties of family are not invincible."

"What do you want from me?" Vilandra cried.

"Speak to your brother. Convince him to speak to me. That is all I ask, Princess… Lonnie." He touched her hand gently with his own. "I love you." And he turned and left the room, while Vilandra sank into the chair by the wall and buried her head in her hands.

* * *

Zan stared at the letter in his hand, his eyes traveling over the familiar script. He smiled slightly as he noted the way the letters curved and connected, each symbol painstakingly drawn. His sister had always been a perfectionist, and he could still remember the hours she spent learning penmanship when they were younger.

It was a short letter, short and concise and to the point.

_Dear Zan,_

_I know that we have not spoken in months, and I long for news of you, Ava, and Rath. But I fear that this news must wait, I have something that I must tell you first._

_Khivar came to visit me today. He has said that he wishes to meet with you, to discuss an end to this fighting. He has also said that you turned down his request. I do not know how much of this is truth and how much is lies, but I do fear for the safety of this planet. Khivar is a threat to you and to your reign, but more than that, this fighting is a threat to our planet. It has torn apart our family, I wonder what it has done to others? If there is an end in sight, I implore you to find it before it is too late._

_Khivar has asked me to say all this to you. These are my own words, and I believe them, but I feel you must know that Khivar is behind much of this plea as well. I know that, as you are still on Antar, you have a better understanding of the situation than I do. And I will defer to your judgment in this matter. But please think on what I have written, I do not know how much more our planet can survive._

_Always your sister,_

_Vilandra_

Zan felt a sudden rush of rage that Khivar had visited Vilandra. How dare this man continue his pursuit of the Princess? Had he not already done enough damage?

He crumpled the paper in his hand. Fine, he thought savagely, if Khivar wanted to use his sister against him, that was fine. But two could play at that game.

He would invite Khivar to a discussion of this war… on the condition that Vilandra came to serve as a negotiator between the two.

* * *

Night was falling.

"Why do I have to leave?" Ava demanded as Rath lifted the last of her belongings and placed them gently in the vehicle. "I can stay in the safety of the palace. How will Khivar possibly hurt me?"

Zan watched Ava's indignation for a moment, then smiled. "I do not trust Khivar. He will find a way to hurt you, I am sure of it. And if you cannot think of your own safety, think of our child. You may be able to defend yourself from an attack, but the baby is too fragile…" He trailed off and placed a hand on Ava's stomach. "Please?"

"Oh… it is not fair when you use our child against me!" Ava complained petulantly, but the smile in her eyes belied her anger. She sighed and changed the subject, "When does Khivar arrive? And Lonnie?"

"Khivar comes only a few minutes after you leave, and Lonnie will be with him," Zan said, and he could not keep the excitement out of his voice. These months of separation hurt him, he truly wanted his sister back by his side.

Night was falling.

"I wish I could stay long enough to see her," Ava murmured, but Rath gave her a stern look.

"The point, your Majesty, is for you to be out of the palace by the time they arrive. It will not work if you stay to see them," the General interjected calmly.

"Ever the voice of reason," Ava said with a laugh. "Have you thought of what you are going to say when you see her?"

Rath looked down at his feet, suddenly unable to meet her gaze. His avoidance of the question sparked a flare of curiosity in Ava, though, and she narrowed her eyes at him dangerously.

"You _are_ going to speak to her, are you not?"

Rath did not answer the question. "The vehicle is ready to go, my Queen. I must return to the our council room to make sure that everything is in place for this meeting. I wish you a safe journey, and we will speak again once the meeting is completed." He turned and walked away without another word.

Night was falling.

"Zan, will you please speak to him?" Ava asked, turning to her husband.

"Of course, Ava, but you know how stubborn he is. He cannot forgive Vilandra yet…" He trailed off and sighed. "I cannot convince his heart to heal." Then he gestured to the waiting vehicle. "You must go, we are running out of time."

Ava climbed into the backseat of the hovering craft that would take her from the city. "How long will I be gone?" she asked, leaning towards Zan to kiss him lightly on the cheek.

"Only a few days. Long enough for Khivar and I to reach a compromise and for him to leave the city. Do not fear, you will be perfectly safe at our estate on the outskirts of the province. It is well protected."

"I am never afraid," Ava replied gamely. "I know you will not let anyone hurt me."

Night was falling.

* * *

"Rath, what are you thinking?" Zan asked as he entered the council chambers and found Rath standing in the center of the empty room, lost in his own thoughts.

Rath shrugged. "I was wondering, your Majesty, why you invited Vilandra to this meeting."

Zan frowned. "Rath, we've been over this before. I know you do not think that having Vilandra here will help our cause, but I won't let Khivar use her against me."

"So you would use her against him? How do we even know it will work? How do we know that he will care what her opinion is?" Rath countered. He did not like the idea of his betrothed being here. He did not relish seeing her again, facing her stunning beauty and innocent smile and having all the horrors of her betrayal emerge again.

"I know," Zan said calmly. "He wants to use her, and we will show him that she is not on his side." He crossed his arms over his chest. "He already tried to use her against Ava. He may claim that he had nothing to do with Lessa Du'vale's death or the rumors that started afterwards, but we both know that this is not true. He _must_ have been involved in both of them."

"Even if he was, that does not mean that he will be successful in turning her against us," Rath countered. "It is dangerous to bring her here, where he can too easily sway her mind."

"It is dangerous to leave her in exile, where we cannot protect her," Zan countered.

Rath paused, then asked softly, "What are you trying to protect her from, your Majesty? Khivar… or herself?"

Zan didn't answer. He turned away from his General and friend and walked over to the seat at the head of the large table. Running his hand over the back of the chair, he asked in a low voice, "Why are you so determined not to see my sister? I would have thought you would be pleased that she will be here, for however short or long it is. I know you've missed her."

Rath lifted his head with a sharp snap, narrowing his eyes on his king. "Missed her?"

Zan rolled his eyes at his friend's denial of the obvious. "Rath, you love her. No matter what she has done, you love her. I can see it, and so can Ava. How can you pretend that love does not exist?"

"What if I love her?" Rath asked. "We are over, ruined. She is not my betrothed anymore, she cannot be. She has… She is in love with another man."

"Has she told you that she would rather be with Khivar than with you?" Zan questioned. When Rath did not reply, he continued pointedly, "Has she told you she loves you more than him?"

"Does it matter if she's said that? Her actions speak differently," Rath muttered at last, looking away from his king.

Zan ran a hand through his hair. "So did mine," he said. "All the times I refused to include her in anything, all the times I misjudged her, all the times I did not trust her when she had given me no reason to believe her dishonest. I love my sister. Perhaps she made the greatest mistakes of any of us, but we were all wrong. That does not change how I feel."

"Do you really believe that?" Rath tilted his head to the side, surveying Zan curiously. "Do you really believe that she only turned away from us because she was trying to do what was right for the planet?"

"Do you not believe it?"

Rath didn't answer right away. "I… I don't know what I believe anymore."

"Ava was very determined that I speak to you," Zan said. He sat down in the chair and stared silently at his friend. Then he added, "She seemed to think you needed to have this conversation."

Rath snorted. "The Queen is very perceptive, but I fear she was wrong about this."

"She was not," Zan retorted. He gave Rath a long look, then said, "She saw right away what it has taken me three months to figure out. You are not upset at Lonnie because of anything she did. You are upset because you think that what she did was a reflection on your ability to be a good husband for her. You think that if somehow you could have been better, then she would never have gone to Khivar. Ava is so desperate for you to speak to Lonnie, to forgive her for this, because she understands that you can never forgive yourself if you do not forgive Lonnie first."

"That is… not true," Rath said lamely, as though the words would somehow change his emotions.

"But it is," Zan retorted. "Because you see what we all see, that Lonnie was naïve and idealistic and emotional and wrong, but that perhaps we could have prevented this had we been paying more attention. I will not absolve her of all her sins, but you know that Khivar used her, and that she did not ever mean to hurt you the way she did."

"No… I…"

"She was my sister and your betrothed, and we were supposed to protect her," Zan cut in, interrupting Rath before he had a chance to finish his statement. "But we did not protect her, did we?"

"It was not our fault that she…"

"Maybe not," Zan said swiftly, "but it does not matter whose fault it truly was. What matters is whose fault you believe it to be. And in the darkest recesses of your mind, you cannot help but wonder if this is not about her, but rather a reflection of your own inadequacies. You cannot see how much she loves you…"

"Loves me?" Rath exploded, his voice echoing in the room. "_Loves_ me? How can you say that? After what she did… I would have given everything for her, and it was not enough. She was my entire _life_, my world, but I was not hers, was I? I looked at her, and I saw the sun and the moon and all the stars and _everything_ worth having in this life. She looked at me and she saw just another man to cast aside."

"Do you really think that is what she saw?" Zan whispered.

"How could it be anything else?" Rath muttered.

"You are not being honest with me," Zan said firmly, a glower appearing on his face. He rose and walked over to Rath so that he was standing directly in front of the General. "I am asking you to tell me the truth, not as your king, but as your friend. And as the brother of the woman you intend to marry."

Rath seemed to deflate, the fight leaving him. "What have I done?" he asked softly. "How could I have ruined her trust in me so completely? How could I have pushed her to another man?"

Zna put a hand on his shoulder. "You are a good man, Rath. It was not your fault alone."

"I was supposed to protect her from this, and I failed. She was vulnerable to Khivar, to his schemes, because I was not there to keep her safe. You say I need to forgive her so that I can forgive myself, but how can I? How can it ever be… forgivable… that I…" He didn't finish the sentence, just stared at Zan, the question lingering in his eyes as his expression crumpled into one of despair and confusion.

"Speak to her, Rath," Zan urged. "We have already been torn apart by our mistakes. Speak to her, before we let this situation spiral out of control any more. Speak to her before it is too late."

* * *

"Please, be seated here," Zan said, gesturing to the chairs that lined the grand table. He took his seat at the head, and Rath slid into the chair at his right side. Khivar settled for a seat further down the table, and on the left. His second-in-command, Nicolas, remained standing, legs apart, arms folded over his chest, watching everyone with cold eyes.

Vilandra hesitated, then took a seat halfway between Khivar and Zan.

Zan stared at his sister. She had entered with Khivar, but he had not rushed to greet her as he so desired. Instead, he'd merely inclined his head to her, as he had to everyone else, and she raised sorrowful eyes to him, but made no move to speak.

Rath, too, had barely glanced at her, but she was not as surprised by that. Rath had not forgiven her, had refused even to meet her gaze, before her exile. She could not imagine that he would forgive her now, after all these months of being apart. Perhaps he had moved on, perhaps there was someone else for him, someone he now loved more than he loved her.

No, she had not expected a greeting from her betrothed. If he was even that anymore. But she had expected her brother to at least smile when he saw her. It was his idea to bring her here, his idea to have her return to this planet. Did that not mean that he wanted to see her?

"We must start this conversation, your Majesty," Khivar said quickly. "For the sake of this planet, I would like to reach a speedy reconciliation."

"We all would," Rath said sharply, glaring at Khivar. "You are not the only one here who is concerned about this planet, or it's people."

"I did not mean to imply…" Khivar started, but Vilandra reached out and placed the tips of her fingers on his arm.

"Enough," she interrupted. "If this is to be a peaceful talk, it will not due to start an argument before we are even settled in." She shot a look at Rath, hoping to catch his eyes, but he was looking at Zan.

"I agree with my sister," Zan said calmly. "Let us start by saying how pleased we are that you have joined us, Khivar." He nodded to Rath, who practically growled, but echoed the sentiment.

Khivar smiled, but let his gaze wander to Vilandra. Before her exile, she would never have spoken out against her brother like that, not in public. Even when she was selling his secrets, it was always in private, away from prying ears and eyes. What had changed now? How did she have the confidence to speak so openly in the council?

"So… you were the one who wanted to speak, Khivar. What do you have to say?" Rath demanded.

"I propose that we allow the planet to vote," Khivar said calmly. "A… what do they call it? A democracy? Ask them who they want to lead, let the people decide who has done the best for this country."

"And have you decide the elections by murdering all my supporters?" Zan snapped irritably.

"How dare you suggest that I would do that?" Khivar said, outraged. "I am only trying to end this war without needless bloodshed."

"You are trying to end this war in a way you know you will win," Rath said coldly. "You think a vote is fair?"

"Why should the people not choose?" Khivar said reasonably.

"Because they do not understand," Zan replied calmly, forcing his voice to stay level. "You have lied to them all, convinced them that you alone know what is best for them. You fail to mention that if you had your way, the other planets would destroy us economically and culturally."

"But with you in charge they do not need to," Nicolas interrupted. "You have done it for them."

"Antarians are intelligent, your Majesty. Why are you so afraid to let them make their own choices?"

"A single Antarian is intelligent," Rath countered. "Antarians, en masse, are gullible, scared, sheep-like people. Sometimes a leaders job is to do what is best for them, even though they cannot see it for themselves." He slanted a look at Vilandra. "Sometimes people are too caught up in their own lives to see the bigger picture."

Both Zan and Khivar glared at him, and Vilandra flushed a deep crimson red.

"I thought we were speaking about a democracy, not our own personal problems?" Nicolas said mildly.

Rath raised his eyes to the skin and said casually, "What makes you believe I was speaking about anything else?"

"Enough," Zan said, shaking his head. He turned to Khivar. "How do you propose we handle this democracy?"

"We vote at the soonest possible time," Khivar said. "Perhaps a two weeks from now? It will give the people long enough to think carefully over their decision."

"And long enough for you to threaten and blackmail them all," Rath accused.

Khivar opened his mouth to reply, but Vilandra beat him to it. "If you do not like those arrangements, General, perhaps you should suggest some of your own?" The polite detachment in her tone caused Rath to look at her with a start, but he saw nothing in her eyes. She was simply staring at him as a complete stranger stares at someone, waiting for a response.

"A year," Rath said. "We cease this fighting for a year. In a year's time, we hold elections." He glanced over at Zan, who gave a sign of approval, then turned back to Khivar. "The King can educate the people on his actions, and you may educate them on your own opinions. We will have strict rules for how the campaigns can be run so that it is completely fair."

"A year?" Khivar retorted angrily. "How much damage will you do to this planet in a year, your Majesty?" He cast a quick look at Vilandra. "Do you think a year is appropriate, Princess?"

Vilandra hesitated, then suggested, "Perhaps a compromise? Half the time the King has suggested?"

"Any less time, and the people will not understand my actions," Zan protested.

"You give your people too little credit, your Majesty," Nicolas sneered. "Or do you think so low of them that they would not comprehend anything?"

"I think Nicolas is right," Vilandra ventured, facing Zan. "Half the year should be enough time… if you explain everything, the people will understand."

Zan frowned, thinking over her comment. _If you explain everything_… was that meant to be a barb against him, a subtle reminder that he had refused to explain everything to her and she had not listened to him when he had asked for her trust? He grimaced and shook his head.

"Fine," he said sourly. "Half the year. As you wish."

"Now, about the rules and regulations," Rath began, but Khivar stepped in before he could finish his thought.

"Why do we need those? To each man, how he sees fit. As long as break no laws, I do not see the reason for such oversight."

"And how would we know that you have not broken the laws, Khivar?" Rath asked pointedly. "Without someone to watch over you?"

"I could say the same for you, General," Khivar replied. "Who would oversee this all anyway? For surely if you did, there would be a conflict of interest."

"A non-partial party," Zan suggested. "Perhaps Larek?"

"Larek?" Khivar scoffed. "He is hardly unbiased, your Majesty."

"Well, we need someone to make sure that you do not twist the truth with your clever lies and ensnare naïve victims in your web," Zan said calmly. He did not look at Vilandra, but she understood the slight and looked down at her own hands.

"I have ensnared no one," Khivar said. "Anyone who believes me does it on their own accord."

"And none of them are tricked? None of them regret it in the end?" Rath asked mockingly. "Come, Princess, you have not spoken in a while. Give us your opinion on this matter?"

"Indeed, Princess," Nicolas agreed. "Tell us, do you feel that it is only Khivar who does not tell the full truth in his propaganda? Or would you say the King does the same?"

Vilandra swallowed nervously and forced herself to say in a composed tone, "I would say that each individual Antarian may have their own opinion on that." She paused, then added, "I agree it may be for the best to have some form of oversight. But I also fear that it will be difficult to find a unbiased person willing to do this. However, have you considered the Intergalactic Council of the Worlds?"

Zan and Rath exchanged a brief look.

"It might work," Zan said finally. "And tell me, Khivar, is this a once-only election, or do you propose that we have them frequently?"

Khivar smiled coldly. "Well, why do we not put that to a vote? Ask the people what they want?"

Rath almost burst out laughing at the suggestion, but managed instead to say in an unemotional manner, "Something has occurred to me, Khivar. You say that you want to protect the culture of this planet. But the culture of this planet is that is _has_ a monarchy. If we hold elections, you will do away with that, will you not?"

"Oh, I propose to leave the Royal Family in the palace," Khivar replied easily. "As figureheads. Of course, the Royal Family would have to abide by the decisions of the elected governing official…"

"A puppet King?" Zan exploded, rising from his seat. "Is that what you would make of me? Never!"

"If it is best for the planet, why would you not agree to it?" Nicolas asked gently. "Do you not agree with this plan, Princess? Do you have a problem being a puppet Princess?"

"She has already been one," Khivar answered for her. "She had no real power here. But, if I am elected, I would be interested in her opinion, as I would be interested in the opinion of the King, Queen, and General. They would be free to offer advice."

Zan spluttered for a moment, then said viciously, "And let me guess. Once you are the leader of this planet, you would ask for my sister's hand? Become her betrothed? She would be more than an advisor to you, would she not?"

"I do not see how that is any of your concern," Khivar retorted, standing as well. "I have not even begun to think of anything of that sort, but even if I had, it would be a conversation for the Princes and I, not you."

"I am her brother," Zan flared.

At the same time, Rath snarled, "She does not love you!"

"You fool," Khivar lashed out at Zan. "You treat your sister like you treat the citizens of this planet. Pawns in your own game. You think you can force her to do whatever is best for you, and you think nothing of what she herself may want." He then spun to face Rath. "And how would you know if she loves me or not? You can barely even figure out your own emotions, do not presume to interpret someone else's."

Vilandra stared in horror at the three arguing men. In the heavy silence that had fallen at Khivar's fury-filled words, she whispered, "Is this why you asked me to come, Zan? Is that all I am to you?" She rose, slowly stretching to her full height. "Someone you can use against your enemies? A… a… _weapon_. To be used however you see fit."

"Lonnie…" Zan started, reaching out towards her, wanting to grab her arm before she did anything reckless and unnecessary.

But Vilandra backed away from him. "I thought you… I thought you _wanted_ me here. I thought you valid my opinion, but you don't, do you? I will never be _anything_ to you." She turned tear-filled eyes to Rath. "Was there ever anything I could have done to be good enough for you? Or was I always doomed to be second best? You cared about Zan, about Ava, about all of Antar, before you ever even _thought_ of me. Was I ever anything more than your last priority?"

"I loved you," Rath spat, jumping to his feet. "I loved you and…"

"And this is how you show your love?" Vilandra whispered, horrified by the rage reflected in Rath's eyes. "Are you even sorry? When I betrayed you, I came to you with the truth. I told you how sorry I was, I begged for your forgiveness, and you walked away. And now that you have betrayed me, do you feel any guilt at all? Do you even care?"

"This is hardly the same magnitude of betrayal," Rath defended himself.

"I would say, actually, that it is even worse," Khivar cut in. He reached out and took Vilandra's hand in his own, grinning triumphantly when she did not flinch from his touch. He saw the jealously in Rath's expression, the fear and anger in Zan's, and knew that they had done more to ruin their relationship with the Princess than he could have ever planned or foreseen.

"Worse?" Rath echoed.

"At least she never used you as a means to an end," Khivar said.

His words made Zan flush and Rath go pale, but they had another side-effect as well. Vilandra seemed to jolt to awareness, and she pulled away from Khivar.

"You did," she hissed at Khivar, face suddenly contorted with rage. "You used me, just like my brother and General Rath did. You, all three of you…" She couldn't even find the words to express her disgust at the entire mess. Spinning on her heal, she strode to the door, wrenching it open. Glancing back at Zan, she asked bitterly, "How could I have ever believed in you?" before leaving the room and slamming the door shut behind her.

Nicolas made a move to follow her, but Khivar signaled him to remain still. He did not need to send men after Lonnie. She would come to him in time, he knew that. Right now, he had more important plans to work out.

Bowing slightly to Zan, he said mockingly, "I think we are done for today, your Majesty. My Second and I will retire now to our rooms." He did not wait for a reply, but instead lead Nicolas from the council chambers and into the hallway.

Once in the hallway, the two skins paused and glanced back at the closed door.

"That was… interesting…" Nicolas murmured.

Khivar almost burst out laughing at the comment. He was so close to victory… "Remain here," he instructed. "I will need you to conduct these meetings while I am away. But you must not appear suspicious until the plan is complete. Retire to the guest room they have prepared for you and do not emerge until I contact you. Understand?"

"Yes, sir," Nicolas replied confidently. They would not fail tonight.

Khivar hurried away, his rapid footsteps echoing in the hallway. Nicolas watched him go, then glanced back at the council room. They'd had only been shown their guest rooms briefly on arrival, and he was not entirely sure he would be able to find his way back to his own. But he could not ask the King of the General for directions for fear of drawing attention to Khivar's absence.

Finally, he decided to wander through the hallways, hoping he would find someone who could point him in the right direction. He was surprised that Zan had not insisted on a guard accompanying them at all time, but perhaps he was as gullible as Khivar had always said. Or, perhaps he was simply too distraught by his argument with his sister to care.

Either way, it gave Nicolas plenty of time to reflect and prepare.

After both Nicolas and Khivar had gone, Zan and Rath entered the hallway. They had been in the middle of a discussion over what to do about Lonnie, a discussion that Zan ended firmly by ordering Rath to find his sister and bring her to him at all speed.

Before Rath could leave, however, a messenger came sprinting through the hallway, racing up to Zan with fear in his eyes.

"My Lord," the messenger cried. "We have received word from the guards at the estate to which you sent the Queen. She did not arrive, and there has been rumors of rebel activity within the city limits!"

Zan felt his entire world turn upside-down at those words, and he managed only to spit out a furious, "Khivar!" as he realized the enormity of the crisis facing him.

* * *

Ava placed her hands heavily on her stomach as she eyed the guard watching her. She should have known this was all a trap, but she hadn't been paying attention, and everything had caught her by surprise. The driver of her hovercraft had turned out to be in league with Khivar, and instead of taking her from the city, he'd lead her, as a prisoner, to one of the shops in the less desirable section of the city. She was trapped in the underground basement now, with now way out, while the men upstairs waited for Khivar.

Khivar, who now safely inside the city could unlock the gates and start a war. Khivar, who had everything in place to attack swiftly and with the element of surprise. Would Zan and Rath survive? Would her absence be discovered in time?

The door at the top of the stairs opened, and Khivar's silhouette appeared, tall and regal and cold. He walked to her, and she instantly fell into a fighting position, prepared to give everything she could to protect herself from this man.

But the guard who had been watching her instantly stepped behind her and seized her hands, pulling them sharply behind her back and cutting off her ability to use her gifts. She began to struggle, but Khivar raised his hand, and she saw the outline of a thin, small gun, one that she knew instantly would fire a bolt of energy not strong enough to kill her, but incredibly painful. And then she realized that Khivar was pointing it at her stomach.

"One wrong move, my Queen, and your child will never be born. You may be strong enough to withstand this weapon, but we both know he is not."

Ava stopped struggling and stared at Khivar, shaking with rage and hate.

Khivar glanced behind him. "Come," he said to the guard. "We do not have much time." The guard pulled Ava up the stairs, Khivar following.

"Zan will find you and kill you," Ava spat, glancing over her shoulder once. "He will burn your body and scatter your ashes to the wind."

Khivar just laughed. "Always the fiery one, my Queen," he sneered. "How much you misjudge your royal husband."

When they finally ascended fully from the darkness of the basement, Ava saw that it was night outside. Late night, so late she knew that the sun would be rising soon, over the distant hills that marked the edge of the horizon line. It had been evening when she left the palace, near the fall of dusk. Had she really been here that long?

If she had, surely Zan would have noticed by now that she had not reached her destination. Someone must have told him… right?

"It will take some time for messages to come through this city," Khivar said with a smirk, correctly interpreting Ava's expression. "I've made sure that a few of my… friends… remain inside the gates to prevent anyone from coming through carrying notices for the palace. By the time the king hears of your disappearance, it will be too late."

He nodded to the guard, who pushed Ava roughly to the door. "Come, my Queen. It is time we depart from your beloved city."

* * *

Vilandra stared around her, shivering. It had been a stupid idea to rush from the palace without even pausing to find warmer clothing, but she had been desperate to leave. How could she stay there, in that place, with her brother and her betrothed and the man she had once loved all using her against each other like some sick and twisted game?

She was a fool, she realized, to have ever believed that she could regain what she had lost. She had betrayed them all, and now who could forgive her for that? Wiping a few stray tears from her eyes, she bit her lip and sniffled. That was what hurt her the most, the understanding that she had brought all of this on herself.

She'd rushed out into the city because it was as far away from the palace as she was able to get on foot. Now that she wandered through it, she could not believe what she was seeing. Three months, and it had changed beyond recognition.

It had once been a thriving city. When she first began her early morning walks with Khivar through the streets, there had always been people around, and the two of them had gone in disguise, hoods pulled low over their faces. Even though some of the fighting had reached this royal city, had ruined the occasional shop or home, it had still looked like a city.

Now, everything was changed. The shops were destroyed, pieces of glass and stone littering the dirt. The burned-out shells of homes stood lined against the starry night sky, a testament to what this war had cost. She had heard, two months ago, from Larek, that Khivar had somehow managed to breach the gates of the city and attack. Her brother had opened the gates to his own palace and ordered every inhabitant of the city inside, while Rath and his soldiers held off Khivar's army long enough to get them to safety. Then the gates of the palace had been closed, and Khivar had not been able to reach the people protected behind them.

Zan, ever the strategist, had worried that some of these people might be spies for Khivar, and had ordered for them to be kept under guard until the fighting was over. The people had been upset, frustrated, and furious by Zan's lack of trust in them, and so, once again, his act of mercy in saving them all had been remembered now as his act of mistrust when he forced them all to stay behind the strong barrier of guards.

Vilandra understood now, a little of what he had said before. How you must do something for the good of the planet, even if it turned the citizens against you.

Some of those men probably were spies for Khivar.

After the attack had ended, and Khivar's army had been driven back, Zan had arranged to send all of the men and women who had lived in his royal city to other provinces were they could start anew. Some had opted to remain in the city if their homes had survived more or less intact, but many had left. She passed only a few homes with lights in the windows, only a few shops that looked as though they were still used.

It was different, so different. Empty, ruined, testament to the few people who still struggled to keep their lives together in the face of all this uncertainty…

It was, she reflected, the face of war, and of what war did.

As she continued through the streets, however, she heard the sound of voices, and instantly started walking towards them. A moment later, her common sense caught up with the rest of her, and she sank back into the shadows of the night. This was not a good part of town, it was hard to know who lived her now. And she was the traitorous Princess that everyone despised, who knew what they would do to her if they recognized her?

Creeping forward, she bent low behind a rock wall and watched in shock and horror as a guard led Ava, held captive, from the building across the street.

And Khivar came out next.

Ava had helped her. Ava had stood by her, even after everything that had happened. Ava had tried, time and again, to get Zan and Rath to forgive her, to accept her back.

She could not walk away from this, knowing that Ava and the baby were in danger.

But there were too many guards. Three more followed Khivar. That was a total of five men, and even with the element of surprise, she would never be able to help the Queen.

But luck appeared to be on her side. Khivar turned and said something to the other men, and the three of them bowed their heads and moved away, disappearing down the long stretch of street and finally turning out of sight behind one of the corners.

She held her breath and waited, moving closer.

If she went back for Rath and Zan, Ava would be long gone by the time they got here. If she tried to attack now… she was not trained in fighting. Khivar and the guard could kill her in a heartbeat.

But would they?

Would Khivar hesitate, if he saw who she was? Could she walk out there, to him, pretending to be upset with her brother and Rath and ask for his comfort? Would he give it to her enough for her to get rid of the guard and save Ava? Did he feel for her at all?

He'd used her, and yet…

He did love her. Somehow, she knew that. She had always known it. He loved her, he'd fallen for her before he ever even knew who she was. She did not know how far that love went, or if he would let her use it against him, but if it was enough…

It had to be. For Ava's sake, for Zan's baby's sake, it had to be enough.

She took a deep breath, and readied herself for the acting performance of her lifetime.

"Khivar!" she cried, rushing from her hiding space, letting the tears stream down her face. She looked wild and heartbroken and in despair all at the same time. "Khivar," she cried again.

Khivar turned away from Ava, gesturing for the guard not to shoot. "What is it, Princess?" he asked gently, reaching up and brushing away a tear. He smiled inside, he had always known that she would come back to him.

"They hate me! They will never take me back, ever… I tried, but they… they did not even… care what they were doing… Did you see their faces? Did you see how Rath looked at me… How Zan spoke to me? Did you?" she sobbed hysterically.

"_I_ care about you," Khivar replied, running a soothing hand over her shoulder as she leaned into him.

For a moment, she froze, remembering suddenly how right it had always felt to be with him, how right and wrong and confusing. He did love her, in how own twisted way, and her heart clenched, and her breath stopped, and she was abruptly unable to move, to even speak, caught in this spiderweb of lies and deceit they had all spun.

And then she saw, over Khivar's shoulder, Ava staring at her with an unreadable expression, and she knew what she had to do.

"Please," she begged Khivar, "take me with you. I cannot go back to my brother or Rath, they hate me. And Larek is polite to me, but I know I disgust him. I am nothing more than an unwelcome prisoner on his planet…"

"Of course, Princess," Khivar agreed instantly, lost in the beauty of her tear-filled eyes. "Anything for you."

"Do you really mean that?" Vilandra whispered. "Anything?"

"Anything," Khivar echoed in agreement.

"Oh, Khivar…" Vilandra swallowed. "I love you… and I _am_ sorry." And without warning, she threw him to the ground and pointed her hand directly at the guard holding Ava. The flash of white energy that left her palm sent the guard flying through the air, and he crashed into the wall of the building behind him, and fell to the ground, stunned.

As Khivar twisted to see what had happened, Vilandra rushed to Ava's side. She knelt down beside the Queen who had fallen to her knees, clutching at her stomach.

"The baby… it's in distress," Ava whispered. The stress of all of this had finally hurt her child, and he was twisting back and forth in her womb, writhing in agony. She needed a healer, and soon.

"Get up! We need to get out of here!" Vilandra ordered.

"You…" Khivar hissed, and Vilandra spun around to face him. She stepped protectively in front of Ava, staring down at the skin leader. "You used my love for you," Khivar said, incredulous and betrayed.

"Well, now… I guess we are even, are we not?" Vilandra retorted. "You said you loved me."

"I do love you," Khivar begged, reaching out with one hand to grab her by the arm.

Vilandra froze, her heart beating rapidly in her chest. Time stood still, momentarily suspended, as she stared into his eyes. "You love power more," she said at last, pulling her arm out of Khivar's grasp. "You love me, but you love power more."

"This is who I was meant to be, Lonnie. This is my destiny," Khivar explained, taking another step towards Vilandra even as she backed away. "Don't you see that?" His eyes were pleading with her to understand, and she felt her resolve slowly crumble beneath his heart-wrenching gaze.

And then she glanced back at Ava. The Queen was standing, leaning heavily against the nearby partially decimated wall. Both hands were pressed against her stomach as though trying to protect her unborn child, and her blue eyes were wide and filled with fear. Vilandra could tell by her heavy breathing that Ava was in no condition to escape.

Vilandra turned towards Khivar. "The Royal Army is coming," she said. "They'll be here soon. You cannot possibly escape in time if you must fight us both first."

"What makes you think the Army will come? I doubt they even know of the Queen's disappearance yet," Khivar countered cruelly.

"They are not coming for her," Vilandra replied. She gave Khivar one long look, then explained, "But Zan will have sent them to find me."

They both knew it was true. No matter his feelings towards his sister, Zan would never let her wander around the city by herself. He would never let her be in that kind of danger.

As if on cue, hey could suddenly hear the sound of distant shouting, and the roar of the engines of hundreds of hovercrafts, all looking for her. Soon they would be safe, and Khivar would be captured.

But Khivar had heard the sounds as well. He narrowed his eyes. "Vilandra, I must leave before the army arrives. And you must come with me."

"And you want me to help you capture my sister-in-law?" Vilandra scoffed.

Khivar's eyes traveled quickly to Ava. "No harm will come to her, I promise. I just want to convince Zan to listen to my requests… She is leverage, nothing more. She will not be harmed…"

"I do not believe you," Vilandra spat bitterly. "You have lied about everything else."

"I love you, Lonnie. I have never lied about that."

Before Vilandra could reply, Ava gave a groan and fell to her knees again, clutching at her stomach. Her skin was too pale, the baby was in too much distress, and she didn't know how much longer her child would be able to survive this suffering.

"She needs a healer," Vilandra whispered. "She is going to die." She took a few halting steps towards Ava, then turned and looked back at Khivar.

The soldiers of the Royal Army were getting closer.

Khivar raised a hand, energy crackling at his fingertips. "You will come with me now," he ordered, his eyes darting left and right as he realized how near he was to danger.

Vilandra looked from Khivar to Ava and back. "No," she said, shaking her head. "No, Khivar, I will not." Her voice shook, but she stared at him with a steely determination that did not waver. She loved him so much, but he had used her, manipulated her so that she was working against her brother. She couldn't trust him anymore, and how could she love someone she couldn't trust?

"Fine," Khivar replied, waving his hand and tossing Vilandra out of the way like a rag doll. She hit the wall and collapsed, rolling over the ground, gasping for breath. "You may stay if that is what you wish. But the Queen comes with me." And he strode over to Ava, reaching down to lift her into his arms.

Ava's strength was rapidly draining, but she was unwilling to let this enemy endanger her child's life, not while she was still conscious enough to fight. Lifting a hand, she threw as much electricity as she could from her fingertips, and watched in satisfaction as it hit Khivar in the chest.

Khivar stumbled backwards and fell to his knees, but recovered quickly. He stood again and walked deliberately to Ava's side. When she tried to attack again, he simply conjured a shield and easily deflected her attack. Then he reached down and seized her by the shoulders, pulling her to her feet.

"Why waste effort of fighting me, _your Majesty_?" he sneered. "You cannot possibly hope to win."

He was unprepared for the bolt of energy that hit him in the back. He dropped Ava, and she cried out in alarm, throwing out her arms to break her fall. Khivar hissed in pain and spun to face his attacker.

Vilandra had pulled herself to her feet, and was glaring at him with fury. "Do not dare to touch the Queen!" she spat.

"Do not be a fool, Vilandra," Khivar reproached. "Do you really think you can stop me?"

"The Royal Army will be here soon," Vilandra replied icily. "Do you think you can overcome me and escape with Ava before they arrive?"

"My army is waiting in the hills," Khivar replied. He held up a small communicating device that was flashing red. "I have already ordered them to come, and Nicolas is inside the palace, waiting to open the gates. They will storm in, and surround the place, and with Ava in our camps, Zan will be forced to listen to us lest we take his wife, his child, and his palace all at once. It is a lost cause."

"You are attacking?" Vilandra demanded. "You lied when you said you just wanted to talk to my brother? But that should not surprise me, should it? All you do is lie and manipulate me."

"The time to talk has passed," Khivar replied. "This planet needs action, and it needs it now. Your brother is ruining us all."

"Don't give me your rhetoric, I have heard it too many times before," Vilandra retorted, flushing deep crimson. How could she have ever loved this man? Was she blind?

Ava pulled herself into a sitting position.

"Lonnie, listen to me," Khivar said, "if you stay in this city, you will die. I'm giving you a chance to leave. To escape. To live. Take it, please." He was staring at her in panic, as though he suddenly realized that she was not going to leave Ava. She was determined to stay, to risk her life if need be, and he did not want to see the love of his life killed.

"I do not want to rule by your side," Vilandra hissed. "Do you think I want my brother's throne? Do you think you can buy my love with treachery?"

When Khivar had thought there was a chance that he could escape with Ava and leave Vilandra for the Royals to find, he had been willing to do it. He had assumed that Zan would order Vilandra to leave the city immediately, and she would be safe from the battle that was to take place. But now, staring at her as she stood there, he realized she was not going to let him leave with Ava. She was going to stay and fight, and he would have to fight her if he hoped to complete his plan.

He didn't have much time, Zan's army would be here soon. He chanced a look at Ava, she was pale and her hair was matted with sweat. Her dress clung to her body. She didn't have much time either.

He wanted to defeat Zan with as little actual fighting as possible. He needed Ava captured to do that.

But he couldn't actually _fight_ Lonnie. He loved her.

"Then do not stay with me," Khivar begged. He cast a wild look around, they could hear the Royal Army even closer now. "Please, Vilandra," he whispered, his voice tinged with desperation. "If you cannot stand me, if you never want to see me again, fine. Just leave the city. Get out while you still can. Stay alive."

"You would help me escape even if I refused to stay with you?" Vilandra asked in wonder.

"I love you," Khivar murmured. He moved towards her, wrapping his arms tightly around her and pulling her into an embrace that she instinctively returned. Then he released her and stepped away. "I don't want you to die, no matter what it costs. Please… Do you need time to pack before you leave? I'll delay the attack on the city. It does not have to be tonight. It could be later… a week, maybe two? Do you need a safe place to go? Whatever you need, Lonnie, I'll give it to you. Just please leave the city. Please live."

"You would do all that… for me?" Vilandra asked, confused.

"I love you," Khivar repeated. How many times had he said that to her today?

"I love you too," Vilandra replied softly. She leaned in and kissed him on the cheek. "But I love my brother and my betrothed more."

"Lonnie…"

Vilandra flung out her hand, causing Khivar to fall to his knees as a wave of energy impacted with his chest. The Princess' eyes filled with tears as she continued, "I am sorry, but I will not flee this city and I will not leave Ava to you."

"The soldiers…" Ava gasped, coughing as she turned to look towards the surrounding ruins. Through the mist, they could see the far off shapes of soldiers entering this corner of the city, filing down the roads in long lines.

"No!" Khivar scrambled to his feet. His entire plan would be ruined tonight if the soldiers caught him. He couldn't let that happen. He needed to escape, and he needed to do it quickly. Which meant he would have to attack Vilandra, or else she would not let him take the Queen.

He raised his hand at the same moment Vilandra raised hers, and flashes of energy leapt into the air, colliding in the middle in a great array of sparks.

Ava stared in horror. Vilandra was standing there, determined to protect her and her son, to keep her safe until Zan and Rath could rescue them. But Vilandra was not trained in combat, and there was no way she would be any match for Khivar.

Khivar wouldn't kill her… right?

Khivar and Vilandra were so wrapped up in their fight that neither noticed the stray waves of energy that smashed into the nearby building until it was too late.

Ava screamed in terror as the smashed stones tumbled into the air and fell towards her. She was dimly aware of someone crying out her name. She struggled to create a force-field to protect her from the rocks and stones, but they kept falling as the entire building threatened to collapse. She couldn't keep it up for long…

The force-field flickered once and died and the rocks fell…

She felt someone shove her hard in the back, knocking her out of the way of the falling building. She landed roughly on the ground, turning in time to see Vilandra give her one last helpless look.

It was Vilandra who had pushed her out of the way.

Vilandra who had saved her life.

Vilandra who was now standing under the falling stones, unable to defend herself.

Khivar disappeared into the smoke and mist, fleeing the city, as Ava screamed out in horror, "Lonnie! _No!_"

* * *

Rath, leading the soldiers of the Royal Army through the city in search of the Princess and the Queen, spun at the sound of the explosion. Galvanizing his men, he raced towards the noise, fearing what he would find when he got there.

When Rath turned the corner, he stopped at the scene in front of him, and his breath caught in his throat. The ground was stained with blood and showed signs of a scuffle. Bricks and bits of broken glass littered the dirt, strewn haphazardly across the earth. Large stones lay in odd patterns where they had fallen from the collapsed building. The hazy air was filled with the acrid smell of smoke.

And crumpled in the center of the ruined walkway amidst the fallen stones was the Queen, sobbing over Vilandra's dead body.

* * *

I went to the beach yesterday. It was beautiful, a brilliantly blue sky, a shinning sun, gentle waves lapping against the golden-yellow shore.

Until it started to rain, sudden and wet and cold.

I had not brought an umbrella.

And that was the end of my outing.

Beginnings are difficult. Beginnings take planning and forethought. They require decisions and choices and assessment and evaluation. Do you take an umbrella even though it does not look like it is going to rain? One more item to carry, but an important one if the heavens should open and precipitation should fall. Or do you leave the umbrella, and take the risk of getting wet?

Beginnings are difficult.

But the end is different. It does not require anything at all. You spend you time planning everything carefully, but the end will still defy all your hopes and dreams and ideas. The end comes, with unerring finality, when you least expect it. When you are too busy looking the other way to even see it coming, too busy planning out the beginning to realize that it had already passed you by.

You ask the questions that all beginnings require. Umbrella or not? Sun block or not? And then the end comes… And all those questions are answered, but not in the way you always like, not in the way you are always prepared for.

But no matter whether you like it or not, one thing stays the same.

The ending starts with answers.

* * *

Author's note: So, if everything goes according to my plan, this is the last of the scenes from Antar that I will be writing. The rest of the story will take place on Earth. I know this leaves the rest of the war on Antar unexplained, but I don't intend on delving any further into what happened. Needless to say, Khivar won and the Royal Four were reincarnated as hybrids and sent to earth, but I'm not going to write specifics. That is up to you to decide for yourselves. 


	33. That Which Does Not Kill You

Title: Providence

Disclaimer: I don't own anything

Author's note: I know a couple people have expressed a desire for Max/Tess and Michael/Isabel scenes, and I definitely meant to include one in this chapter, and then… it just didn't quite happen. I promise there will be a Michael/Isabel scene in the next chapter, as well as a very angst-filled Max/Tess one.

As for my decision to not include any more scenes from the past lives, that still stands. I made that decision when I started writing the very first chapter of this story, that I was only going to write past lives up until Vilandra's death. However, the Royal Four are remembering bits and pieces of things, and what they remember will figure into conversations in the remaining chapters. So you will see their reaction to their lives on Antar (i.e. Michael's reaction to what little pieces he remembers of Vilandra's death will be written in the chapter after this one)

* * *

Chapter Thirty-Three: That Which Does Not Kill You

Alex's eyes opened, and after that everything was a blur. Max knew that somehow they must have destroyed the Seeker's body, left the desert, staged the accident, gotten everyone home safely, but he couldn't remember anything besides the heat of the rising the sun, the scratching of dust and dirt in the back of his throat, and the blue of Alex's startled eyes as he came back to his surroundings.

Michael had waved his hand over the Seeker's still body, watching as the blood and skin and bones turned to dust, until the once-beating heart and breathing lungs were nothing more than dirt and sand that combined with the rest of the desert floor and was lifted up and scattered by the wind. Until there was nothing left to remember this man and everything he loved and hated, everything he had tried to do with his life, the good and the bad.

And then the accident… Matt had drive out to the desert instead of jogging all the way, and his car was still on the dirt road below them all. Max had half-dragged, half-carried the human boy's body to the car, while Michael firmly held Tess, who was sobbing and yelling at them to stop, to just leave him alone, to let him down, to just please, please stop…

Matt's body was pushed behind the wheel, the car was taken to a twist in the road up ahead where the curve was dangerous, where it was easy to lose control, and…

It was inhuman and unearthly, the wail that tore from Tess' lips as Matt's car went careening into space, disappearing over the side of the road and tumbling down the hill, until it came to a rest, turned over, far away from them.

Liz and Maria were gone, and Alex looked so lost, that for a moment Max couldn't quite remember if they'd even won the battle. Tess was still crying, now shaking in Michael's arms, and despite her petite frame, Michael was having a difficult time keeping a hold on her.

Max glanced from Alex to Michael, and said, raising his voice over Tess' cries, "Call Maria. Tell her to get Liz and meet us at Valenti's. Then call Isabel and tell her that Alex is safe and we're all alive. Don't tell her anything else, I want to talk about this in person, not over the phone."

Michael nodded, accepting the order without question, and dragged Tess towards their own car. Max watched them go, a contemplative expression on his face, then he turned to Alex. He studied the other boy carefully, looking for any sign of hidden injuries.

Alex shifted, nervous under Max's scrutiny, and said, "I'm fine Max." His voice was scratchy, and it was almost as though he couldn't remember how to use his own body, having been unable to control it for so long.

Max reached out and rested his hand on Alex's shoulder, noting silently that his touch made Alex flinch, almost imperceptibly, before relaxing again. "I'm sorry," Max said, but he knew the two words could never fully encompass everything he wanted to say, everything he felt.

Alex didn't reply. Instead, he glanced over his shoulder at the car, where Michael was standing, talking on the phone, while Tess sat in a crumpled heat at his feet, her back against the car, her head in her hands. "She really cared about him."

"Yeah…"

"I'm sorry," Alex said, and there was more to his words than Max heard, because the hybrid king was too concerned about his own worries to realize that the human boy in front of him had demons of his own to battle.

* * *

The house was silent.

Liz and Maria sat side-by-side on the sofa, holding each other's hands tightly, praying for a miracle. Despite Michael's admonition to Isabel that they needed to wait until everyone was in one place before discussing the particulars of what happened, Maria had told Isabel, Kyle, and Valenti exactly what had happened in the desert up until the time the two of them left. Kyle had turned ashen and not spoken a word since the news of Matt's death, and Isabel had looked tearful at the explanation of the final revelation of the Seeker's daughter's death, and then the death of the Seeker himself.

Occasionally, Valenti turned to look at his son, eyeing the boy, wanting to come up with the right words to say to offer comfort or sympathies. But nothing seemed good enough, even in his head all his words sounded trite and stale. Every time he opened his mouth, he ended up just lapsing into silence.

And so they all waited.

Then the door opened, and Michael stepped inside, leading the silent Tess. She looked small and fragile, as though just bumping into her might cause her to shatter into fragments and litter across the floor. Her eyes, rimmed in red, were dull and lifeless and filled with constant tears that made tracks down her face. She looked… broken.

Michael, too, looked irreparably damaged by the fight. Michael had healed all his physical injuries, but his eyes looked old, so much older than they ever had before. His face was fixed into a frown, his ability to smile temporarily lost. He looked to Isabel first when they entered, and when their eyes met, he felt something wash through him that brought him almost to tears.

"You're safe," Isabel whispered.

But her words caused Tess to shrink even more, and burst into louder tears. Kyle sprung to her side and pulled her away from Kyle, wrapping his arms around her as he let a few tears fall for his friend.

Then Max walked in, followed shortly by Alex.

Alex stared at all of them, a half-smile forced onto his face as both Liz and Maria stood. Everyone seemed to freeze, waiting for explanations and answers, waiting for reassurances. Alex felt his gaze drawn unconsciously to Isabel, who was staring at him with a combination of relief, fear, and guilt in her eyes. Valenti rested his hand on the back of the sofa, using it to support his weight, as he too waited with abated breath. But he kept glancing aside, looking over at Kyle and Tess, wanting to go to them and yet having nothing to say.

It was Max who broke the silence, his voice sounding tired and weak and authoritative all at the same time. "Khivar's gone. Alex is back."

It was all the explanation Liz needed, and she crossed over to Alex, wrapping her arms tightly around him, terrified that if she let go for even a moment, someone else would take him away. Tears spilled unabashedly down her face as she murmured, over and over, into Alex's ear, "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry."

Max watched the exchange, then ran a hand through his hair and took a shaky breath. He stared at the others, noting their gloomy expression, and felt an irrational anger growing. Turning to Michael, he said sharply, "I take it from the depression in this room, they already know about Matt and the Seeker?"

"I didn't tell them," Michael replied calmly, not perturbed by Max's anger.

"I did," Maria replied, tearing her gaze away from Alex. She met Max's eyes defiantly. "I know you wanted to wait, but they had a right to know, and I didn't want to keep the truth from them. Besides, Isabel knew that someone had died, Khivar told her while they were fighting. I couldn't just let them all wonder…" She jerked her head towards Kyle and added, "He was Kyle's friend, after all."

Max accepted this reluctantly, "You are right. I just… I wish we could have spoken about this as a group." But he didn't say anything else on the matter, instead turned to Alex and suggested, "You should sit down. I don't know how well I was able to heal everything, you are probably still weak."

"I'm safe," Alex countered, pulling away from Liz and walking over to Isabel. "Thank you," he said, reaching out and taking her hand. "For everything."

"Alex…" The hybrid Princess had nothing else to say, so she simply hugged him, resting her head on his shoulder. "I wish I could have saved you sooner. I'm sorry I was so afraid to face Khivar, to face everything I had done," she whispered, praying for his forgiveness. She couldn't cry, she was past the tears. She was now simply numb, the horrible truth of it all settling over her as she added two more people to the list of deaths they were responsible for, and, with a quick glance at Tess, added one more heart to the list of hearts they had managed to break.

But Alex just shook his head and said, "There's nothing you could have done besides what you did. In the end, you saved me. I… thank you."

His words caused Maria to snap her head up and look at Isabel. "You did save him," she said, the realization only occurring just at that moment. "I forgot… I… I suppose I should say thank you also. For saving my friend."

Isabel felt her throat run dry as she realized how difficult that had probably been for Maria to say. Although the human girl had already apologized for the hasty and hurtful words she had uttered right before Tess was kidnapped, it did not mean that she had fully forgiven Isabel for both stealing Michael and breaking up with Alex. Her gratitude now filled Isabel with a warm feeling of her own: happiness.

"Hey, you," Maria said as she turned to Alex. "You're back."

"I'm back," Alex confirmed.

It was in the midst of all this that Max turned around and noted Tess' disappearance. He shot a questioning look at Valenti, who walked over to Max and explained in a low tone, "She just went into her room. Kyle went also. Leave her be, Max, she doesn't need more to worry about right now."

Max nodded reluctantly. He didn't know what he had expected to happen after Matt's death. He couldn't very well walk up to Tess and proclaim his love for her now, not when she had just lost her boyfriend. But the understanding that he did love her had come after she had been kidnapped, so he hadn't had a chance to tell her yet… and he did not like waiting.

"What happened, Max?" Isabel asked finally, drawing Max's attention away from the Tess. "How did Matt…?"

"He was in the desert by accident," Max replied hollowly, not looking at Isabel. "He came across us while we were fighting… He tried to protect Tess, but Khivar killed him." He looked at Liz for a moment, meeting her gentle brown eyes, and said, "We put his body in his car and staged a car accident. And we destroyed the Seeker's body as well."

Liz looked back at him, wondering what he wanted. There was something in his eyes, he was begging for something, imploring. She just had no idea what it was or what she was supposed to tell him.

Alex flinched at Max's words, something Liz noticed with confusion. She took his arm and pulled him onto the sofa. Maria sat on the other side of Liz, and Isabel leaned against the back, leaning over Alex protectively, but her eyes still flickering to Michael.

Michael was watching Isabel with jealousy, and his expression became darker and darker as he watched Isabel and Alex interact. Max saw this, and sent Michael a warning glare, which he pointedly ignored.

Valenti leaned against the wall, watching the six teenagers with a critical gaze, as though trying to pick out problems that would soon erupt. Michael's displeasure at Isabel and Alex was not nearly as troubling as Max's refusal to look Isabel in the eye. Isabel was picking up on this, something that was adding to her own apprehension and anger. Alex's constant shifting and fidgeting bespoke some hidden concern and fear. The raging emotions in the room would only stay in control for a short period of time. Something had to come to head, or everything would explode.

He glanced at the closed door to Tess' room, and was glad that his son and the girl he was starting to think of as a daughter were not here at the moment.

"You did what you had to do," Liz said, looking over at Max, still holding Alex's arm in a tight grip. "Nobody can know how Matt really died."

"That doesn't make it right," Max replied with a shrug. He ran a hand through his hair again. "I should have been able to save him. I wanted to…" He swallowed nervously, looking down at his hands. He was still standing, but unable to meet anyone's eyes.

"He was dead before you even got to him," Michael tried to comfort his friend. "Khivar… he killed him instantly. You couldn't… there was nothing you could do."

"He's right, Max," Liz said, once again falling into the habit of offering sympathy to her… what was he? They hadn't really broken up, they were just taking a break… so was he still her boyfriend? But she saw how he looked at Tess… that was… he was in love with her.

"You did everything you could," Isabel added. "That's what Liz and Maria said when they came here."

Max stared at her quickly, then looked over at Liz. Finally, he swung his eyes to Michael and said angrily, "Nobody was supposed to die. We had a plan. No one was even supposed to get hurt."

"You couldn't know that Matt was going to show up, Max," Maria pointed out. "Just like you couldn't have known that Liz and I would end up there also."

"And it was a good thing they both did, because Maria saved Tess' life and Liz saved both of ours," Michael said to Max in a low voice. "Look, we couldn't have known…"

"It doesn't matter if we could have known or not. We were supposed to neutralize Khivar right away!" Max exploded. "Isabel was supposed to be able to get into his mind right away. He shouldn't have been able to do anything!"

Isabel jumped to her feet at Max's angry words and spat, "I tried! It was harder than I thought, and there was _no_ way any of us could have known how difficult it would be. This isn't _my_ fault."

"Izzy, I don't think Max was implying…" Michael started, at the same time that Valenti stepped in between Max and Isabel.

"Just stop it," he snapped. "It wasn't anyone's fault, not either of yours. It was Khivar, okay? And blaming each other isn't going to make it any better."

"I wasn't blaming you, I was just saying that the plan shouldn't have been ruined like that," Max hissed at Isabel. "What makes you think this is about you? The world doesn't revolve around Isabel Evans."

"Why would I ever think you would blame me for it?" Isabel asked sarcastically, her tone acidic. "When we were brainstorming before you wouldn't even look at me. When I told you that we needed to keep humans away from there you disregarded what I had said…"

"No, he didn't," Liz interrupted. "He made Maria and I leave once Alex started getting… I mean, when Isabel was in his mind." As she spoke, Alex pulled his arm out of her hand and stood up, stood and moved away. Liz looked at him, but continued speaking to Isabel, "Besides, like you said, there was no way you could have known that we were going to be there. Maria and I weren't involved in the plan."

"Great, so he listens to my advice but just won't admit to my face that I might actually be right about anything," Isabel practically snarled.

"As long as we're on the subject of the plan," Maria cut in, turning her attention to Michael, "why weren't Liz and I included? Alex is our best friend, and you just made decisions without us."

"You guys couldn't have helped," Michael defended himself.

"Well, obviously we could have," Maria retorted, "because, as you pointed out just a moment ago, we _did_ help. I saved Tess' life, remember?"

"Don't take it personally, Maria," Isabel said coldly, callously, "Max only cares about his own opinion." She gave them all one last glare, then stalked to the door, tearing it open and preparing to storm from the house.

"Don't any of you ever think about anyone besides yourselves?"

The words were spoken in a barely audible whisper, but in the silence that had fallen just before Alex spoke, everyone could hear them. He wasn't looking at them, but rather he was staring at the wall just beyond Michael's head, as though the blank slate of white would offer him some sort of answer, some sort of justification fro what he had done.

"Alex…?" Isabel asked, turning to look at him.

"You want to know who is responsible for Matt's death, Max?" Alex questioned, lifting blue eyes to Max's unreadable face. "I am. _I_ killed Matt. I tried to stop Khivar, but I couldn't. I didn't have control over my body, so it was my hand that threw the deadly blast at Matt. I _killed_ him. And you're too busy blaming each other to even think of that."

Before anyone could say anything else, Alex pushed past Isabel and left the house. Liz jumped to her feet, sent both Max and Isabel a vicious, accusatory stare, and raced after Alex. She caught up with him at the end of Valentis' lawn, and they could see, through the window, the two of them talking.

Maria hesitated, then said to Max. "You should have told us what you were doing. This conversation isn't over." And she, too, left the house and joined Liz and Alex outside.

* * *

"Do you need anything?" Kyle asked, watching as Tess pulled her knees into her chest and leaned back against the wall. She was sitting on the bed, staring blankly at the wall as Kyle tried his best to come up with something to say to her.

"How long were you two friends?" Tess asked in a hoarse voice, choking over her words.

"Um… about eight years, I think," Kyle said, trying to remember exactly when he had Matt had first bonded. They hadn't ever been incredibly close, but their paths had crossed enough times in school sports for Kyle to consider the other jock a friend. "I've known him since kindergarten."

"What's his family like?" Tess questioned. Kyle didn't answer, startled by her train of thought, and she pressed, "He told me a little bit about them, but not much. He has a sister?"

"Yes. A younger sister. Emily. She's ten." Kyle leaned back against the door, listening to the rise and fall of impassioned voices coming from the living room. He couldn't quite make out what the others were saying, but from the sounds of it, they were upset.

And why wouldn't they be? Two people were dead.

"What's she like?"

"Cute, I guess. Little… like… small and tiny?" Kyle replied with a shrug, trying to picture Emily. He'd only seen Emily and Matt interact on a few occasions. At the age of ten, she didn't quite understand how to act around older boys, and was far too young to hang out with Matt and his friends, so Kyle hadn't ever really had the opportunity to speak to her. Still… it had been clear that she idolized her older brother.

Kyle didn't really think that was what Tess needed to hear right now, so he didn't say anything.

But Tess' next question made him wish that he'd somehow managed to take control of the conversation before it reached this point.

"What about his parents? I never met them."

Kyle swallowed nervously. "They're nice. His dad works at the hospital. He's some kind of doctor… I think maybe a pediatrician." He paused, then added, "His mom makes really good chicken casserole."

"They're never going to know the truth," Tess murmured. But then, she wondered silently, would they even want to know the truth? Would they even care? Matt was still dead.

"Do you need anything?" Kyle asked again.

Tess let herself fall back onto the bed and stared up at the ceiling with wide-open eyes, too tired and emotionally exhausted to even think. "Yes," she whispered. "I need Matt."

* * *

Later, after Alex, Liz, and Maria had gone back to Liz's house, after Max and Isabel had returned home in a stony silence, after Michael had departed to his apartment, after Tess had fallen asleep in her bed and Kyle had drifted off into slumber sitting on the floor of her room, Jim Valenti found himself sitting on the sofa of the living room, watching the local news as the first word of the 'crashed' car spread through the town. He stared at the pictures that flashed across the screen, pictures of Matt's body, still and lifeless and gray. He tightened his fingers on the edges of the cushions, gripping the sofa in silent grief for the boy he didn't really know.

"I'm sorry," he said to the empty room, as though Matt could somehow hear him and understand his regrets.

And yet…

Max had healed Kyle. Granted, had the aliens never come to Roswell, Kyle wouldn't have been shot in the first place, but he couldn't change what had happened. It wasn't like the four of them had asked for any of this to happen any more than the humans had. And Max _had_ healed Kyle.

And having the aliens here had brought Tess into his life, brought him and Kyle closer together, turned them into a family.

So what exactly was he sorry for? Another family had been destroyed because of this war, but his own family had been rebuilt because of it. Would he sacrifice knowing everything he knew now if it brought Matt back to life?

Did it make him a bad person that he couldn't honestly say the answer was 'yes?' That he actually had to stop and wonder if Matt's life mattered to him as much as what he had now?

He turned the television off. He didn't want to watch it anymore.

* * *

That which does not kill you makes you stronger.

Suffering builds character.

What goes into the crucible, comes out tougher.

I don't actually believe that any of those sayings are true. There are certainly situations were suffering builds character. There are also situations were suffering completely destroys a person's soul and strength and courage.

But even if they were all true, even if everything that did not kill you would end up making you stronger, does that make suffering something we should all strive for? Who would ever wish heartache and pain on anyone? In the choice between having character and avoiding pain, how many of us can honestly say we would wish that our loved ones experienced the burning ache of a trial by fire?

The easy road is not always the right one. But that doesn't mean we should make things harder than they have to be.

It's funny, because even if those above sayings are true, they don't mention another important aspect of it all. They neglect to point out all the bad that comes from these sorts of situations, all the heartache and pain and regret and fear and loss and grief.

Suffering might build character, but it still hurts.


	34. The Tipping Point

Title: Providence

Disclaimer: I don't own anything

Author's note: This chapter takes place over a couple days. I don't really give a specific timeline, but it spans the time from the end of the last chapter (the morning that Tess is rescued) to Matt's funeral. I imagine it to be a few days because funerals don't tend to happen right away.

* * *

Chapter Thirty-Four: The Tipping Point

Liz handed Alex a mug of hot chocolate and then pulled herself onto the bed next to him. Maria sat across from them on the desk chair, holding her own cup of herbal tea with cedar bark, a concoction she had tried to force onto Alex. He had politely refused her attempts to feed him what she claimed was a soothing mixture, and had opted instead for Liz's offered cocoa.

Liz looked down at the chocolate in her own cup, then over at Maria's steaming tea, and wondered why anyone would ever want anything that smelled or tasted remotely like tree bark.

"There isn't really a point in saying it," Alex said at last, breaking the gentle quiet that had fallen. "I wouldn't believe it, even if it came from the two of you."

"Say what?" Maria asked, feigning ignorance. If Alex was going to refuse their comfort, she was at the very least going to make him talk about it. It was the only way for him to ever heal and move on.

Alex rolled his eyes. "I killed Matt, Maria."

"No, you didn't," Liz interjected before Maria had a chance to respond. "That was Khivar, Alex. It was completely Khivar."

"I was screaming," Alex whispered, his haunted eyes staring at Liz's pale face with a desperation she had never seen before. "I was screaming and begging for him to stop… during that entire fight… I kept trying to fight him, but I couldn't. There wasn't anything there to fight, I couldn't gain control of my body, I couldn't… I saw him throw the energy at Tess, I saw Matt run towards her, and… It was like everything slowed down. Stopped. Stood still. I could see Matt about to push Tess away, see him about to die, and I wanted to save him. I… God, I _tried_, I just…" He tore his gaze away from Liz and looked down at his own hands. Hands covered in the metaphoric blood of guilt. "I couldn't save him."

Liz rested a hand on his arm, knowing there wasn't anything she could say to make it all better. Maria took a sip of her tea and exchanged a look with Liz, wondering what to do.

"If it is your fault," Liz replied, "then it is mine too."

"What?" Alex questioned, turning to look at her again. He only met her gaze for a moment, then twisted away, still clutching his mug between tense fingers. He could feel the energy flying through his bodying, ripping out of his palm. He could see the crackle of electricity in the air as it flew towards each of the aliens in turn, Max, Michael, Tess. He could smell the sudden scorch of burnt clothing as it finally made contact with a target… albeit not the one that had been intended. He could hear his own heart racing with horror and fury as Matt's body fell with a thud to the ground.

All memories he did not want, all memories he would never forget.

"It is my fault, because I told you and Maria about the aliens, I dragged you both into this," Liz said determinedly. "It is my fault because I didn't notice that you were really Khivar until it was too late. It is my fault because I let my love for Max cloud my judgment and put so many others in danger."

Maria nodded. "And it's my fault, because I was part of the decision to tell you," she added, tucking short strand of blonde hair behind one ear. "And I also didn't notice there was something wrong with you." She hesitated, considering something, then continued, "And it is Max's fault, because he started everything by healing Liz at the shooting. And Tess' fault, because she was the one who was dating Matt, the one he died to save. Isabel's fault, because she couldn't get control of your body away from Khivar sooner. Michael's fault, because he was too hurt to save Matt at that moment. Kyle's fault, because he encouraged Tess to date Matt. If it is your fault, Alex, then it is all our faults."

Alex shook his head, knowing his friend's attempts to help him wouldn't work anyway. "Maybe," he muttered, "but it wasn't your body that did it." He stood, placing the cocoa on Liz's desk and walking over to the window. He leaned his head against the cool glass and asked softly, "If I didn't kill him, then why do I remember _exactly_ what it felt like to throw the energy blast that took his life?"

Liz made a move to walk to him, but Maria gave her a quick look, indicating that she should remain silent. The brunette shrugged, but obeyed the request, praying that Maria knew the right thing to say.

If there even was a right thing to say.

"Does it hurt?" the blonde waitress asked.

Alex bit back a bitter chuckle and replied, "Yes. Everywhere."

"Maybe that's because it's supposed to," Maria pressed. "Matt is dead, and no matter who's fault it is, when someone dies, it is supposed to hurt. You are supposed to be upset and angry and furious and… I don't know. It just… when you lose someone, it is supposed to hurt."

"That doesn't make it better," Alex snapped irritably. "Just because it is supposed to hurt, doesn't mean I'm not guilty."

"No," Maria agreed. "But it means you can't use your pain as a sign of guilt."

"Do you think Tess is to blame for what happened to Matt? After all, it was her life we were all trying to save," Liz asked, and Alex slowly tuned to face her again.

"No, of course not. She couldn't have…" He blinked and frowned. "You can't compare the two situations," he protested when he realized what Liz was trying to do.

"Do you think Isabel is to blame for not being able to get access to Khivar as quickly as they had all hoped?" Liz continued, ignoring Alex's retort.

"Liz, it isn't…"

"Do you think Isabel is responsible?" Liz interrupted, narrowing her eyes at Alex, demanding that he answer her question.

"…no…"

Liz raised an eyebrow, indicating that she had proven her point. "You can't say you killed Matt just because you weren't able to save him. Those two aren't the same."

Alex pushed away from the window and began to pace, his footsteps echoing angrily across the floor. "It doesn't matter!" he cried, face flushed with emotion. "It doesn't matter if I know something isn't my fault. It doesn't matter at all what the logical side of my brain thinks. It… It doesn't just change everything, having someone tell me that it wasn't me. I still… I still remember… It still…"

"Hurts?" Maria supplied helpfully. "Yes, it does still hurt, Alex. It isn't easy and it isn't okay and it isn't going to magically get better. It won't ever be okay because Matt is dead. And that will always hurt. But it is _supposed_ to hurt."

"Death should never be easy," Liz murmured. "But Khivar took over your mind for weeks and you're finally free. You can't let his last deed trap you again. He's gone. Don't let him still haunt you."

'Easier said than done," Alex retorted.

"I know," Liz replied. "But we're going to be here to help you with that, every step of the way."

* * *

Isabel wandered around the park, listening to the wind as it whistled through the leaves above her, swaying the branches of the trees. She felt unnaturally cold in the gentle heat of the night, and thought to herself that all the heat in the world wouldn't thaw the ice currently running through her veins. She was sorry, so sorry, that she hadn't been able to save Matt. But even the grief that she felt could not quell the anger that rose within her every time she thought of Max and the words he had spoken to her.

If she was honest with herself, she would admit that he hadn't come out and actually accused her of being responsible. Not in so many words.

But if he was honest with himself, he would have to admit that he was thinking of it, was subconsciously blaming her for this. She could see it in his eyes, the look that held her guilty, untrustworthy. The look that Khivar had claimed Zan had always used when focusing his attention on her.

Was she guilty? Would she ever be able to escape what her past self had done? Or would she be forever haunted by the knowledge that she had betrayed her brother once before, and that the person who had done it lived inside of her, and might do it again.

"Izzy?"

She turned to see Michael standing behind her.

"Couldn't sleep either?"

Michael shook his head wordlessly. The night sky was filled with tiny white dots of light, stars that he used to spend hours observing. Observing and wondering, wanting to know what was out there and how it related to him. But now that he knew the answers, he wasn't sure he wanted them after all.

"I keep thinking of him," Michael said at last. It wasn't quite the truth, he wasn't thinking of Matt. He was thinking of the look on Tess' face, the screams that tore from her throat as Matt fell, the fury that had burned in her eyes…

She was always the most level-headed of the group, the calmest and most rational. In the beginning, he had blamed her unemotional attitude on her lack of desire to feel human emotions. She had learned from Nasedo that they were a weakness, and it had been unnerving to watch her move through life with such calculating insight. But then later, after she'd merged into the Valenti family, after he'd seen the softer side of her, he'd realized that the coldness came from something else.

Survival techniques.

He was so used to her, to the way they all saw her, that when the raw emotion had played across her face with such fervor and passion, he'd had no idea how to respond.

It wasn't Matt's face that kept him awake at night. It was Tess'.

"We all do. I called Alex, but he didn't answer his cell phone…" Isabel ran a hand through her hair and looked away. "I wanted to… it wasn't… not fair…"

Michael grimaced and said, "I'm not sure you can help him with this, Izzy. Maria and Liz might be better…" He gave an apologetic shrug when she turned an angry stare towards him, but he refused to back down. "They're his best friends."

"I'm his girlfriend!" Isabel protested heatedly.

"Are you?" Michael asked softly. His voice held no accusation in it, but Isabel still stepped away from him as though she'd been slapped.

"I liked him. A lot," Isabel whispered. But like wasn't the same as love. She swallowed nervously and took a few halting steps away from Michael, towards the bench near them. Sinking against the stone seat, she glanced up at the trees and sighed. "I wanted to help him."

Michael stared at her for a long time, then asked, "Are you sure that this is about helping Alex?"

"Of course it is," Isabel replied, giving Michael a confused look. "What else would it be about?"

"Proving that Alex can't be held responsible for failing to save Matt. Because if it isn't his fault, how can it be yours?" Michael replied with an unusually shrewd expression in his eyes. He could tell, just by looking, that Isabel was more upset about Max's words than she wanted to let on. The guilt was bubbling within her, eating her up inside, and all her anger at Max couldn't change the fact that she had to wonder if maybe he was right.

"It isn't my fault!" Isabel hissed.

Michael gave a nonchalant shrug. "I know. But you jumped on Max before he'd actually blamed you. Regardless of if he was thinking that all along, he hadn't said the words, and you still… You were defensive. That shows that you must have been feeling a little unsure before…" He trailed off, giving Isabel a thoughtful look. "Weren't you?"

Isabel didn't answer for a moment. Then she said, "Khivar said some things to me. Showed me some memories. I… just get this feeling that Zan didn't trust Vilandra, and now Max is doing the same thing."

"You'd believe our enemy over your betrothed?" Michael demanded, and they were both his with the strangest sense of déjà vu, as though they had once had this conversation, in some other planet, some other time.

"Don't you see it, Michael?" Isabel asked pointedly. "The way Max turns to you and doesn't listen to me?"

Michael wondered idly if she'd noticed that she hadn't contradicted him, hadn't said that he wasn't her betrothed. He thought of Maria, of how she'd been so much more aware of his feelings for Isabel before he'd even really had a clue that he was in love with the hybrid Princess. He thought of Alex, of how none of them, not even Isabel, had been able to determine that he wasn't really Alex until the Seeker showed it to them. Were they all condemned to not see what was right in front of them?

"I see the way he looks at you," Michael said at last, "when he's worried that you're in trouble. I see the way he always thinks of you first, even if he can't admit it."

Isabel played with a few loose strands of hair as she considered Michael's words. "Then why does he keep pulling away from me? Why do I get this foreboding feeling that we're all about to fall apart?" She wrapped her arms around her chest and stared up at Michael with wide eyes. "It isn't just what happened today. It isn't just… I feel it a lot now. Now that I remember emotions and colors and smells and sounds from our other life, I can't help but wonder if this isn't where we were heading anyway. Zan, Rath, and Vilandra fell apart in the end."

"How do you know that?" Michael questioned.

"I just do," Isabel replied, remembering the bits and pieces of flashes she'd seen while fighting Khivar. They were neither long nor coherent enough to form any sort of image, but they combined into a mass of senses and she somehow knew that, even if Khivar wasn't trustworthy about anything else, he hadn't been lying then. Something had happened to drive the three of them apart, and she couldn't help but fear that it would happen again.

"I saw you die," Michael said after a moment's pause. Isabel gave him a puzzled stare, and he explained, "We were fighting in the desert. Khivar and I. And… I just had this flash. I was looking at him, but you were there, lying on the ground. Covered in blood and stone and… battered. You were so bruised and I…" He stopped, his voice choked, and shook his head.

"It was how Vilandra died?" Isabel murmured.

Michael nodded. "I was… furious. Scared. Ashamed. Horrified. Panicked. I felt what I felt, but I also… I could feel Rath in me as well. And I knew what he felt, when he saw you… your body…" He took a few steps and sat down on the bench next to Isabel. "Whatever problems we might have had in our past lives, never doubt that I loved you with all my heart."

Isabel leaned her head against his shoulder. "Will we get through this? You, me, Max, and Tess? Alex, Liz, Maria? Kyle, Valenti? Or will we all just… crumble?"

"I can't speak for anyone else," Michael replied, "but I'm not going anywhere. I'll be here, with you, no matter what."

The burning sensation of tears started, and soon the tiny drops of salt water were making their way down Isabel's face. She sniffed and felt Michael wrap his arm around her shaking shoulders.

"Thank you," she whispered.

* * *

The funeral was a subdued affair, one that Tess had no desire to be at. All around her, people dressed in black milled about, dropping lilies onto the fresh dirt of the new grave, murmuring condolences to Matt's parents, and acting somber and sorrowful. The oppressing silence of the entire ceremony weighed heavily on her, when all she wanted to do was scream.

Matt was dead… because of her.

They'd left her alone, all of them except Kyle. Alex, Liz, and Maria were often too caught up in their own problems to waste time speaking to her, and she couldn't blame them for that. She'd heard from Kyle, who'd learned from Isabel, that Alex blamed himself for what had happened. And she was glad that he had such loyal friends to stand by him and help through all of this.

Max and Isabel, she had learned, were not speaking to each other. Isabel and Michael, however, seemed to have grown almost inseparable overnight. The three of them were too deeply entangled in their own dramatic lives to spend time with her.

She wouldn't have even known what to say to her if they had come.

Max had come to see her twice, but both times Kyle had refused to let him in the house. She'd heard one of their argument from the safety of her bedroom; heard Max yelling at Kyle to let him pass, and heard Kyle reply that she needed to time to grieve and heal and he wasn't about to let Max rush in and use her for whatever problem he wanted solving.

For someone who had never had siblings before, Kyle was doing a very good job of being a protective brother.

She liked being alone. It gave her a chance to think and try to sort out of her muddled thoughts. But she hated it also, hated the silence that forced her to remember Matt because there was nothing to distract her from her grief.

"Tess? Are you Tess?"

She turned around and found herself staring into blue eyes. The girl was young, no more than ten, and small for her age. Her round face was streaked with tears and her hair was pulled back into a long braid. Her mouth was slightly open, her lips quivering with barely restrained sobs.

Tess felt her breath catch in her throat.

"Emily."

Emily nodded. "My brother talked about you a lot. He liked you," she said. She wiped a few tears away and added, "I used to tease him about it."

"I liked your brother a lot also," Tess replied, wishing she had something else to say, words with which to console this little girl. Her own internal grief must necessarily pale in comparison to the horror Emily was experiencing, the realization that she was now an only child.

"Did he talk about me?" Emily asked shyly. "He always used to say I annoyed him."

"He talked about you," Tess said. "He… he loved you. You were the first person in your family he told me anything about. Before he mentioned either of your parents. He… he loved you." The words sounded shallow, but Emily ventured a slight smile and nodded, pulling unconsciously at her hair.

"I loved him, too," the little girl replied before wandering into the crowd again, searching out her parents.

This was more than she had bargained for, and the need to escape grew with every passing second. She scanned the crowd, looking for Kyle and Valenti, but before she could find them, she turned to discover a set of tawny eyes staring right back at her.

"Max." Her mouth was dry.

"How are you holding up?" Max asked softly, trying to sound gentle.

Tess quirked an eyebrow at the stupidity of the question, but then, what else could he have asked? "How's Isabel?" she replied pointedly.

Max gestured across the cemetery, and Tess followed his gaze to see Michael and Isabel standing close together, talking. Beyond them, she could see Alex, turning away from the funeral, and Liz and Maria trying to offer their support.

"And Alex? How is he?" Tess continued, deciding that if they could talk about everyone else, then maybe she wouldn't have to think about herself.

"I don't know," Max stammered. "He's not… they're not talking to us."

The cruel smirk twisted her lips as the cold words fell with casual indifference before she could even thinking about what exactly she was saying. "Well, imagine that. I guess the humans aren't as much a part of this group as you kept wanting to believe."

Max opened his mouth to say something, then snapped in shut and gave Tess a scrutinizing stare. "I was not wrong last year when I told you that Liz was part of the group. But I was wrong to say that you weren't important. I… we were worried when… the Seeker, when he… I was afraid you might die."

"Well, it's nice to know my untimely murder and death would have been unpleasant for you," Tess replied, her voice flat and devoid of emotion.

Max sighed, seeming to realize that he wasn't going to get anywhere with Tess right now. She was too lost in her own anger and pain to be able to have a rational conversation. But he also didn't want to just give up and walk away. He'd done too much of that in the past.

"Tess, I just… I really care about you," he said softly, reaching out to take her hand. "I can't pretend to know how hard this is for you, but I want to help. I want to be there for you."

"You can't help," Tess answered.

"Tess…"

"My boyfriend is dead," Tess spat, her voice now so low that only Max could hear it. "Matt died protecting me, and you want to _help_?"

"I care about you," Max repeated, but that only seemed to enrage Tess even more.

"Since when? Because you definitely didn't before all this."

Max grabbed Tess by both her wrists and replied heatedly, "That isn't true, and you know it." Tess tried to pull away, but he held on more tightly, ignoring the looks a few people around them were giving him. Over Tess' head, he saw Kyle, saw the anger and shock that registered on Kyle's face as he realized that Max had found a way to talk to Tess. The human boy started walking determinedly towards them.

"Really?" Tess drawled, and Max looked back at her.

"I didn't realize that I loved you until a long time after I should have," Max admitted with a conceding nod. "But I cared about you before that. With Lonnie and Rath in New York, when Congresswoman Whitaker attacked you, after we found the skin in your house, after Nasedo died. There are a lot of things I was oblivious to, but you can't claim that I never cared about you."

"What about all the times you'd talk to me and then go running back to Liz? Did you even bother to wonder if that hurt me, or did you just take it for granted that my feelings were less important than hers?"

"She was my girlfriend, Tess. Shouldn't I have been paying more attention to her than to someone I barely knew? I know we're family, and I know that I love you, but I didn't even know you existed a year ago."

Tess opened her mouth snap back a retort, then shook her head and pulled her hands out of Max's grasp. "I don't care, Max," she said, and at that moment in time, she knew she'd never spoken a truer word. None of this mattered to her anymore. Past arguments were just that, arguments that had occurred in the _past_. They were over and done with, and she couldn't even bring herself to care.

Instead of protesting, however, Max just nodded and said, "I know."

It was then that Kyle appeared at Tess' side, his eyes narrowed into a dangerous glower. "What are you doing here, Evans?" he growled, and the amount of anger he managed to fit into Max's last name indicated quite clearly what he thought of hybrid King.

Max ran a hand through his hair. Drawing a shaky breath, he said, "I didn't come here to upset you or to try to confess my undying love. I honestly just wanted to see how you were doing."

Tess took a step away. "I can't…" She should have been happy that Max loved her, should have been happy that he cared. But she just couldn't. What did it matter what the others thought? It didn't change anything, and she was still here, still standing at this funeral, while men and women dressed in black and wearing somber expressions mingled around her, constantly reminding her of what had happened, what they had been responsible for.

Something inside of her was twisting and turning, like a giant animal wanting to escape. She bit the inside of her cheek to keep from screaming, and her body felt hot and cold all at once. Max had taken a step towards becoming friends with her again, maybe even something more. He'd offered the proverbial olive branch, and instead of taking it, she'd shoved the thing back in his face. Because she just couldn't stand any of this, and nothing Max said was helping. She loved her one-time husband, but Matt was dead, and somehow she couldn't get the two thoughts to mesh together in her mind.

They were falling apart, all of them, and she was helpless to do anything but watch as her entire world crumbled around her.

"I think you should leave," Kyle said firmly, pulling Tess behind him so that he stood between the two hybrids.

Max looked past Kyle at Tess, whose face was blank of all expression, and said, "I've walked away too many times before. I want to help now."

"You can't," Tess said firmly, as though the words explained everything. She pushed herself away from both of them, and did the only thing she could think of, the only thing that would spare her having to be around all these people, suffocating in this mourning environment.

She turned and ran.

Both Kyle and Max started to follow her, but Kyle came to his senses and reached out to stop Max. "Let her go," he directed. "We need to give her space."

Max accepted this order, watching Tess' retreating figure. He hated being unable to ease her pain and heartbreak, hated seeing the emotions that tumbled through her brilliant blue eyes and not being able to help her. But what could he even say? She was right, there was nothing he could do to make this any better for her, nothing he could say to ease the guilt he knew she felt.

"You know," Kyle said casually, "if you really want to help the people you care about, there is someone else in pain right now, someone who needs you to talk to her."

Max followed Kyle's gaze to Isabel, and chewed on his lip for a moment, thinking. Then he walked past Kyle towards his sister.

It was time they talked.

* * *

There is a saying; _the feather that broke the camel's back_. The one problem that, because of all the past arguments, troubles, and indiscretions, becomes the catalyst, the means to argue, the scapegoat for everything else that went wrong. Most times something happens to ruin a relationship, destroy a trust, or cause a friend to walk away, it isn't one big problem. Rather, it is a series of problems that build up over a long period of time, until they finally reach a tipping point, and all the problems come spewing out into the open, laid bare for all to see.

Sometimes that catalytic problem is huge; the death of a loved one. Sometimes it is smaller; hastily said words and the way they are interpreted. But the one thing all tipping points have in common is that all other problems leading up to them are now seen through the lens of this one point. Everything is somehow related to that death or those words, and you can't see anything else but that one final straw.

There are two ways you can go. You either talk about what is wrong and attempt to rebuild, to move forward. Or you become so lost in the anger and fury that you lose sight of everything else until all you have are fragments of a ruined friendship scattered around you like leaves. Which way you go… well, that's entire up to you.

But it isn't easy to work out which path is the right one because everything is always spun out of proportion, and nothing is ever remembered in context. Small things become big, insignificant molehills turn into unsurpassable mountains. And whatever that one, final problem was, it doesn't matter if it was big or small, if you were right or wrong, if there is a way to solve the other problems.

The only thing that matters is that final straw.

You can drop a ten-ton weight from a airplane so that it falls on a camel crossing the Sahara desert, and it won't make a difference. In the end, it's always the feather that breaks the camel's back.


	35. Apples and Oranges

Title: Providence

Disclaimer: I don't own anything

Author's note: This chapter takes place right where the last one ended, still at Matt's funeral.

* * *

Chapter Thirty-Five: Apples and Oranges

There's this saying about apples and oranges. It means that apples are apples and oranges are oranges, and they are two different things so you can't compare them.

Apples have fiber. They're good for your heart and your teeth. Oranges have vitamin C. They're good for your immune system and for preventing scurvy. Apples are red, yellow, or green. Oranges are orange. Apples have a core, oranges have seeds scattered through each section. Apples are crunchy, oranges are juicy.

But for all those differences, they're still both fruit. Which means they actually have more in common than the aforementioned saying admits. There will never be two situations that are completely alike, but just because there are some differences (apples are sweet, oranges are tangy), it doesn't actually mean that the situations are so unalike.

Apples are apples and oranges are oranges, but they're both still fruit.

* * *

"Tess, wait!" 

Tess stopped and spun around at the sound of her name. She'd left the funeral and started wandering through the streets of the small town. She didn't know how long she had walked or how long her follower had been following her. She didn't even know why the other girl was here, why she would want to talk. She just wanted to be left alone.

"Go away, Liz."

"I saw you leave the funeral," Lisa said, slowing her pace as she came to stop in front of Tess.

"Come to check up on me? See how I am doing?" Tess asked irritably.

Liz raised an eyebrow and frowned at Tess' bloodshot eyes. "I don't really have to ask you how you're doing, Tess. I can figure that one out on my own."

"Shouldn't you be with Alex?" Tess demanded, folding her arms over her chest. "Doesn't he need you to stand by him and tell him that everything's going to be okay? He doesn't really seem able to make it through a single second without you and Maria at his side."

Liz narrowed her eyes. "I understand that you're upset, Tess," she said in a dignified tone, "but that doesn't mean you get to talk about Alex like that. He's going through a lot."

Tess had the grace to blush at Liz's statement, knowing that her words had been uncalled for. She looked away with a frustrated sigh. "Aren't we all," she muttered.

"When was the last time you killed someone?" Liz snapped angrily. "Alex might not have had control over his body, but it _was_ his body that killed Matt."

"When was the last time I killed someone?" Tess mimicked. "I don't know, Liz. How about that time I destroyed all the skins with a great burst of fire?" She glanced around at the unfamiliar houses and wondered where exactly they were. She needed to pay more attention to her surroundings in the future, or she would end up lost in this little town.

"I'm sorry," Liz said, and now it was her turn to be abashed. "I forgot."

"Michael killed Pierce. Isabel killed Whitaker," Tess answered. "There are people Alex could talk to if…" She trailed off, then said, "But I understand why he would rather talk to you and Maria."

"We are his best friends," Liz said. There was a moment's silence, then Liz said, "Look, Tess, I didn't follow you to fight about this. I don't want to argue with you. I just… you looked upset when you left, so I came to… I don't know. I just came."

Tess didn't answer.

Liz shrugged, then said, "Khivar killed Matt. You blame yourself because it was you he saved with his sacrifice. Isabel blames herself because she couldn't get him out of Alex's body soon enough. Alex blames himself because he couldn't stop Khivar. None of your situations are that different, Tess. There are people _you_ could talk to, if you want."

"I don't know what I want right now," Tess replied.

"Well, when you figure it out, you know where we all live," Liz answered. Then she turned and walked away, and Tess watched her go in silence.

* * *

"Can we talk?" Max asked as he approached Isabel. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Maria and Alex standing to one side, and he wondered where Liz had gone. The rest of the mourners were slowly drifting away until there were only a few left at the grave site. He could see Matt's parents and younger sister standing by the grave. He wanted to say something to them, but he didn't know what. 

"Talk?" Isabel echoed. She shrunk away from her brother, almost as though afraid he would attack her. Michael rested a hand on her arm and stared at Max with an unreadable expression.

"Please? It will only take a few minutes. Then you can get back to Michael," Max offered.

Isabel acquiesced to his request, following him to a secluded spot of the cemetery. She saw Kyle talking to his father, gesturing wildly, and wondered where Tess was.

"It wasn't about you," Max said, turning to face his sister. "When I said that the plan hadn't worked the way it was supposed to, that Khivar wasn't supposed to be able to hurt anyone… it wasn't about you. I wasn't accusing you of anything."

Isabel stared at him with stony eyes, but refused to say anything. She didn't know if she believed him, but she was willing, at the very least, to hear him out.

"I know why you thought I was accusing you," Max continued, and that caught Isabel's attention. "I know, lately, I've been…" He gestured inarticulately with one hand, unable to find the words to properly describe the subtle ways his attitude had changed towards Isabel in the past few days. "I look at you, and I see someone else."

"Vilandra?" Isabel ventured.

Max nodded. "I can't quite explain it. I don't see flashes or memories or anything like that. Just… overlays. I look at you, and I see something different, something familiar and strange and just… different. I… she… I don't know the details of what she did, and I don't think we will ever know. But she hurt Zan. And I feel it, that betrayal, when I look at you."

"Is that your excuse for the way you've acted towards me?" Isabel asked bitterly.

"No. It isn't an excuse. I'm not trying to excuse anything. Izzy, I never meant to hurt you. I never meant to treat you the way I did. I… I know that you aren't Vilandra, and that you wouldn't betray me. I don't think that even Vilandra was a traitor. I think she was just used by Khivar, the way he just tried to use the Seeker and Alex."

"You hurt me," Isabel said.

"I know," Max replied honestly. "But you have to believe me that I never meant to imply you were responsible for Matt's death."

"Did you not mean to say it," Isabel asked viciously, "or did you just not mean to say it in front of me?" She was a little thrown by the fact that Max wasn't making any attempt to defend himself, but she still wasn't willing to just forgive and forget.

"Both," Max replied. "I might have, subconsciously thought for a fraction of a second, that things would have been different if you'd have been able to get into Alex's mind faster. Because things _would_ have been different then… but that doesn't mean it is your fault that you couldn't, or that Matt is dead."

Isabel gave Max a searching stare, trying to read the emotions in his eyes. As she did so, she saw a flash of something, overlaid with her brother's face. He was older and wiser, but infinitely more tired, more stressed. And yet, underneath the remnants of this other life, she could still see her Max, with his naively innocent gaze and his idealistic hopes. He wasn't Zan, and she wasn't Vilandra, not completely.

"I think Vilandra and Zan hurt each other," Isabel said slowly, remembering what Khivar had told her. "Like you and I have done these past few weeks. I demand too much from you and don't remember that you aren't Zan and that you don't know anymore about this than I do."

"You don't demand anything from me that I don't demand from myself," Max countered.

"Then we're both wrong," Isabel answered wryly, "because neither of us should expect you to be a king. You aren't, and we're just grasping at straws."

"Yeah…" Max looked around at the few remaining members of the funeral for the boy he had been unable to save. "I'm starting to understand that now."

"I wanted you to have the answers," Isabel admitted slowly, choosing her words carefully as she watched the emotions play across Max's face. He's turned away from her so that she could only see his profile, and his eyes were slowly scanning the crowd, although she wasn't sure what he was looking for. "Because I thought if you did, then maybe I would find ones about me."

Max tilted his head to look at her, a questioning expression in his raised eyebrows.

Isabel flushed. "I just hoped I would know why Vilandra had…" She bit her lip suddenly, not wanting to finish the sentence. Not wanting to admit to the thoughts she had been thinking. Ever since the day Congresswoman Whitaker had first told her about her other self and her past life, she had been unable to completely let go of the horror of that knowledge. Even with Max's reassurances that he trusted her, she couldn't help but wonder if she even trusted herself.

"Khivar used her," Max said firmly.

But Isabel shook her head. "It isn't as simple as that, Max, and you know it. There's more to the story and I…" Again, she didn't know what to say, how to finish the train of thought. Instead, she gave a bitter laugh and asked, "How did we end up like this, Max? So far away from each other? Or do you think we are always doomed to fall apart? Perhaps in every life cycle, every reincarnation, Zan and Vilandra will fight each other."

"I don't believe that."

"I didn't," Isabel muttered. "But now I'm not so sure."

"Do you know what I remember the clearest?" Max asked abruptly. Isabel shook her head wordlessly, and he told her, "I remember the sun setting and you and I standing on the balcony, watching it fade behind the mountains." He gave a slightly rueful smile and mused, "I don't remember anything much about that moment, just the way it felt to stand there, with you."

"And what did you feel?" Isabel asked. She remembered that Michael said he had seen a flash of her death, and she wondered if Max would ever see that as well. She wondered what he would feel if he saw it, what they would all feel if they started to remember more.

Max ran a hand through his hair, and it stood up like a shock of electric current had raced through it. "Like I was home," he said simply. He took Isabel's hand in his own. "I don't know why Vilandra did what she did, and I don't think we will ever know the full details of that. Or of what exactly happened between Zan and Vilandra that would cause her to turn to her brother's enemy. But I don't think it matters. Because I'm not Zan and you're not Vilandra."

"We can't escape the past," Isabel argued.

"No," Max agreed. "But Max and Isabel Evans don't have to relive it either. I trust you. And I love you. Always."

He smiled at Isabel, then walked away from her, over to Michael. He stopped in front of his best friend, a serious expression on his face.

"Everything settled between the two of you, Maxwell?" Michael asked, his voice toneless, but almost threatening in it's simplicity.

"Oh, I don't think it ever will be," Max answered honestly. "But we're working on it." Isabel was walking towards them, and he gave Michael a stern once over and said hastily, before his sister could arrive and hear him, "You and Isabel? Will you two be an item soon?"

"What's it to you?" Michael snapped.

Max gave a grim smirk and replied easily, "You're my best friend Michael, but if you hurt my sister…" He let the rest of the sentence hang in the air between them, a threat for the hybrid General.

Michael bit back his retort as Isabel rejoined them. She looked between the two of them questioningly, but Max wasn't looking at her. His eyes were fixed on Liz, who was returning to the funeral. Without a word to sister of friend, he walked determinedly towards the brunette waitress, knowing that they needed to speak, once and for all.

"What was that all about?" Isabel asked, nodding towards Max's retreating figure.

Michael gave wolfish smile, knowing it would annoy Isabel, and answered, "Just to boys having a little chat." She glared at him, but he changed the subject and asked instead, "Everything alright between the two of you?"

"No, not yet. Maybe not ever. But we're working on it, you know. We're working on it," Isabel unknowingly echoed Max's earlier sentiment.

"Huh," Michael muttered, scratching his eyebrow. "You two really are alike, you know that?"

* * *

"I don't know where Tess is. I mean, I do know, but I'm not going to tell you. She needs some time," Liz said the moment Max approached. 

"I wasn't going to ask you," Max answered, a slight frown forming on his face. Why did she automatically assume that he wanted to talk to Tess?

But Liz didn't register what he had said, and simply continued talking, her voice rising in volume as she did. "Because this was really hard for her, and having you around trying to talk to her isn't going to help and… wait, what?" She blinked, confused.

"Tess needs time. I don't want to pressure her," Max repeated, giving a little shrug. "I wasn't going to ask you where she was."

That took the wind out of Liz's sails. She deflated slightly, then nodded and said, "Oh. Okay. Well… I should find Alex."

"Actually, I did want to talk to you," Max said quickly, reaching out a hand and catching Liz by the arm before she could walk away. "I… I think we need to talk."

Liz looked up into Max's soulful eyes and felt a shiver run up and down her spine. She looked away quickly, averting her gaze. Scanning the diminishing crowd for Alex, she asked, "Can this wait? I do really need to find Alex."

"Do you think it can wait?" Max replied. He knew that Alex needed Liz right now, and he didn't want to keep her from him. But he could tell that she knew why he was here, what he wanted to talk about. So he was going to leave the decision to her; do they talk now or later?

Liz looked down at the ground. "I know, Max. We don't need to have this conversation. I… I know what you are going to say."

"See, that's the thing. I'm not sure that you do," Max countered. Liz looked up at him sharply, and he realized he was still holding her arm. Dropping it, he stepped backwards and added, "If you want, we don't need to talk now. If you really need to find Alex…?"

Liz bit her lip. It was unlike Max to be so deferential in his decisions.

Max, seeming to read her thoughts, said with a wry grin, "There is a fine balance between being a leader who makes the decisions and being someone who listens to all his friends. Listening to too many people is just as bad as being deaf. I'm trying to find that balance."

Liz smiled gently. "You seem to be doing a pretty good job of that so far. At least with me." She pointed over his shoulder, and he turned to see Maria and Alex talking in quiet tones, heads leaned towards each other. "I think they can spare me for a few minutes. You can talk."

Max nodded. He had so many things he wanted to say, so many explanation he needed to give her. But now that he was here, facing Liz, he couldn't think of anything to say. The rights words evaded his grasp, no matter how hard he tried to catch them.

"I love you," he said finally. "And that isn't going to change. But what I feel for you now… it isn't what I felt before. I think… I think we've both realized that this… this relationship isn't going to end up where we had originally hoped."

"With marriage and a house in the suburbs and little Max Jr. running all around the front yard?" Liz quipped.

Max cracked a smile. "Yeah."

"You're in love with Tess," Liz said slowly, thoughtfully. She gave Max an appraising look, then said, "You have been for a while, haven't you?"

"I think so," Max admitted. "I just…"

"You were so used to being in love with me you couldn't see what was right in front of you?" Liz supplied. "The same way Michael was so used to thinking of Isabel as a sister that he couldn't realize he felt differently?"

"I guess more proof for Isabel that girls are more perceptive than boys," Max said with a shrug. Liz gave a little chuckle, and Max added, "I just wanted to apologize."

"For what?" Liz asked, genuinely perplexed.

"For everything I've done in the past few weeks. For yelling at you when you and Tess trapped the Seeker at the Crashdown. For not telling you that we were going to try to save Alex and Tess. For leading you along when I wasn't in love with you anymore."

Liz reached up and placed a hand on his face. "Max, we both knew that it was over between us, and we both made the conscious choice not to do anything about it. You weren't the only one who didn't want to let go. It's just as much my fault."

"Maybe, but I've still done a lot of things I'm not pleased with…" Max protested.

"Yes, you were a jerk on occasion," Liz said with a slight smirk, letting her hand fall to her side. "But… the world… both worlds, Antar and Earth, are asking a lot from you. And I know that you are trying to be a king and a leader, and I know it isn't easy. I think… I think it is just going to take us all some time to figure out how to fall into our new roles."

Max nodded mutely.

"Which is why I think we should take some time away from each other," Liz continued. "Not just you and me, but… the whole group. You and Tess need time to work things out, and so do Michael and Isabel. And… there could be new threats. You need space to figure out what your next step is, how you plan to proceed from here. Us humans… we just get in the way."

Max raised an eyebrow, but seeing the wisdom in her words, he nodded reluctantly. Then he asked, "Is this also about trying to keep Alex and Maria safe?"

Liz lowered her eyes. "Yes."

"I think you're right," Max said after a moment. "But you have to understand… we'll never be able to completely break ties. Khivar knows that we used to be together… and he knows that if he targets you, Maria, or Alex, we will fight him."

Liz wrapped her arms around her chest at Max's words. "I know. It will never be over and we can't go back. But that's okay. I don't want it to end, just to change. Instead of one big group, we should be two groups that are somewhat linked to each other." Then she glanced over to where she saw Kyle and Jim standing and added, "Besides, people like Kyle will never be able to leave it. He's not going to walk away from Tess, he's her family now."

Max nodded. "So this isn't the end, just…"

"A new beginning," Liz supplied. She stood on her tiptoes and kissed Max on the cheek. "Good luck with Tess," she murmured, then turned and walked away, blinking back the tears that were slowly forming.

Max felt a sudden wave of sadness and loss as he watched his one-time love walk away from him. But he told himself that this was for the best, and resolutely turned his back on her, walking back to Isabel and Michael.

* * *

"What did Max want to talk to you about?" Maria asked as Liz rejoined their small group. Alex, too, looked up with interest, an unreadable expression on his face. 

"We officially broke up and decided that the humans and Czechoslovakians should take some time apart from each other to try and… figure out how everything is going to work from now on," Liz replied. She looked from Maria to Alex, reaching up with one hand to brush away her tears. "I hope you don't mind that I made that decision for you. I mean… it isn't a ban. We can still talk to them…"

"It's fine, chica," Maria replied. She reached out and lightly squeezed Liz's hand. "You sure you're okay?"

"Yes," Liz whispered. It was hard to break up with Max, to close that particular chapter of her life, but it had been for the best. She wasn't crying for Max as much as she was crying for the life that she had known, the life that was now turned up-side down.

"I think it is a good decision," Alex said. "I think we all need to tie up some loose ends and then… try to move on. Reconstruct ourselves."

"Reconstruct?" Maria asked. "You make us sound like buildings or bridges or something."

But Alex didn't smile at her comment. He was watching the way Isabel and Michael were interacting, the closeness of their bodies as they talked. He had seen them slowly gravitate towards each other after the knowledge of his possession came to light, and he wasn't surprised to see them close now. But the pang of grief was still there.

"You should talk to Isabel," Maria said, correctly interpreting the look in Alex's eyes. "I know she wants to talk to you."

Alex looked from Maria to Liz, then sighed. "Yeah… I should." He took a deep breath and started walking towards the hybrid Princess.

Maria watched him go, then turned sharp eyes to Liz. "The break-up with Max… this wouldn't have anything to do with Alex, would it?"

Liz raised an eyebrow, confused. "Of course," she said slowly. "After what happened to Alex, I realized that we needed to…"

"Not that," Maria said, waving her hand impatiently. "I mean you and Alex. You know… together."

"Me and Alex?" Liz protested. "Maria, don't be ridiculous. Alex is my best friend, but I'm not attracted to him like that. And he's still in love with Isabel."

Maria shook her head in amusement. "For someone who could tell that Michael was in love with Isabel and Max was in love with Tess long before the involved parties realized it themselves, you're remarkably oblivious."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Even before Max and you decided to break up, you considered ending it with him because of the danger that your relationship had put Alex in. When he was possessed, you worried constantly about saving him. He was the only thing you really thought about, wasn't he? And now that he's free, you can't take you eyes off of him." Liz said nothing, so Maria just huffed, "You're the smart one, Liz. You add everything together. See what you end up with."

* * *

Michael, seeing Alex walking towards Isabel, instinctively reached for her hand. He slid his fingers through hers, his eyes meeting Alex's in a defiant glare. Just let the boy come and try to take her away, he thought to himself. He wasn't going to lose Isabel to anyone, not even Alex. 

"Isabel, can we talk? Privately?" Alex asked, giving Michael a pointed look.

Isabel opened her mouth to respond, but Michael said swiftly, "Any reason I can't hear what you have to say?"

Isabel gave Michael a disbelieving look, but Alex just replied, "It really only concerns Isabel."

"Whatever the problem is, maybe I can help as well?" Michael suggested. "Two heads are better than one."

"I don't think this is a problem you can help us with," Isabel cut in before Alex had a chance to reply. She gave the human boy an apologetic look and then narrowed her eyes at Michael. "I'll be right back."

"Are you sure?" Michael ventured. He was clutching at straws now, but he was also envisioning a scene where Alex and Isabel both bared their souls and asked each other for forgiveness and ended up sobbing and falling into a deep embrace. He did not like that image.

"Am I sure?" Isabel repeated, her voice cold, and Michael realized his mistake immediately.

"Uh… I didn't mean it like that," he stammered. Isabel turned away from him, taking Alex's hand and pulling him away, and Michael stared after them in trepidation.

Once they were out of Michael's earshot, Isabel turned to Alex and said, "Look, Alex, I just wanted to say…"

"That it is over?" Alex supplied before Isabel had finished her sentence. He gave Isabel a smile. "I know it's over. I figured that one out while Khivar was possessing me. I… I see the way you look at Michael. It was how I always wanted you to look at me."

"I'm so sorry, Alex…" Isabel started, but Alex shook his head, interrupting her again.

"You don't have to be sorry, Isabel. I know you never meant to hurt me."

"But I did," Isabel replied. "Whether or not I meant to… and not just that, Alex. For never realizing that you weren't you, for loving you when you were being possessed, for not being able to save you in time…" A few tears started to pool in her eyes, but she pushed them away with a flick of her fingers. "I was too afraid of becoming Vilandra to attempt to rescue you until it was too late and…" She gestured towards the fresh dirt of Matt's grave. "I'm so sorry," she said again.

"Me, too," Alex answered. "Because I knew you didn't love me and I kept trying to make you think you did and I just… I'm sorry, too, Isabel." He looked away and added, "You aren't the only one who wasn't able to save Matt."

"It isn't your fault," Isabel said quickly, but she saw the shadow that crossed Alex's face and added, "I bet you've gotten that a lot from Maria and Liz."

Alex gave a dark chuckle. "You could say that," he agreed. He ran a hand through his hair, letting his gaze wander over to Michael, who was watching them with a suspicious frown. "I don't think Michael likes me anymore," he said quietly.

Isabel rolled her eyes. "Don't let him bother you," she said firmly.

"He doesn't," Alex answered. "I have other things to bother me." His sight fell upon Matt's grave. A little girl was standing in front of it now, and he remembered vaguely that she was Matt's sister. How hard it must be for her to discover that she was now an only child, that her older brother was gone… forever.

"I know how you feel," Isabel murmured. "I remember… what it feels like… to kill."

Alex looked at her again. She was no longer successful at keeping the tears away. Her pale face was tracked with black smudge lines of mascara and her eyes were rimmed with red.

"Whitaker?" he asked, and Isabel nodded. "Does it…does it go away?" he questioned.

Isabel shook her head. "No. It never changes. Once someone dies… you can't ever go back. Maybe she was the enemy and it was either you or her… maybe you were being possessed and you couldn't help it… Whatever the reason, what's done is done. And it can't be undone."

"That makes me feel better," Alex said sarcastically.

Isabel offered him a weak smile.

"It gets easier," Isabel said finally. "Somehow, it's more… bearable. It takes time and patience, but it… it does get a little easier. Still… it doesn't ever go away. Not really." She rubbed her eyes and whispered, "I'm so sorry for dragging you into this, Alex. I'm so sorry for everything."

"I knew what I was getting into," Alex answered. Isabel raised her eyebrows, and he amended his previous statement, "Well, not really. But I knew it wasn't going to be normal."

"Liz and Maria are worried about you, so they stick to you like glue. Kyle is worried about Tess, so he keeps everyone away from her. Michael is worried about me, so he threatens Max and you. And Max is worried about everyone, so he oscillates between asking our opinions and ignoring us. How are we going to make it through this?"

Alex replied confidently, "We'll make it through this because we're strong enough to do so."

From the corner of her eye, Isabel saw Tess wandering back into the funeral, saw Kyle move quickly to his sort-of sister's side. Liz and Maria were still talking, and Max was not making his way over to Michael.

"We're very different, the eight of us," she said.

Alex considered this for a moment, then replied. "Yes, we are. But we're also very much the same."


	36. Epiphanies and Revelations

Title: Providence

Disclaimer: I don't own anything

Author's note: I gave a few very subtle hints along the way about Alex and Liz having feelings for each other (how vehement Alex was in preventing Khivar from hurting Liz, how hysterical Liz was when she realized that she hadn't even noticed that Alex was possessed...), but I didn't make it that obvious so that it would be more of a surprise for people.

* * *

Chapter Thirty-Six: Epiphanies and Revelations

Some epiphanies come with the resounding crash of symbols and the brilliant flashes of light. The proverbial light-bulb turns on above your head. They answers are there, like a flood of colors and smells and sounds. And they appear so completely out of nowhere that you have no idea how they even came to you.

And then there are the quiet revelations. They creep into your brain while you're laboring over your physics textbook, trying to understand the complicated interplay of different variables. They travel silently from your mind to your fingers and come out as plots twists in the story that you are writing, plot twists you never saw coming. They gently come to you as you try to figure out the best way to approach a friend with whom you are arguing.

They are small and quiet and when they come to you, it feels simply like you are discovering something that, deep down, you've known all along.

And that is precisely the reason you don't even realize what you're having _is_ an epiphany.

* * *

Tess closed her locker door a little more forcefully than she intended and pushed her books into her backpack. The school day was finally over and it hadn't come a moment too soon. She wasn't sure she could make it through another second here. They'd had a memorial assembly for Matt that morning, and several of his friends had expressed their condolences to her during the day. She needed to get away from it all. 

She turned around and found herself staring at Alex.

Forcing a smile, she said politely, "Hey, Alex. How are you?"

Alex answered in the same deadened tone, "Alright, I suppose. Long day."

Tess bit back the bizarre desire to laugh at his words. "Yes," she agreed, her voice bitter. "Yes, it was." All around her, students streamed out into the halls, eager to escape the confines of school. She wished she could have as little to worry about as they did.

"Are you… how are you?" Alex asked tentatively. He hadn't really seen Tess since the day of Matt's death. He hadn't spoken to her at all during his funeral, but he knew that Liz had, and the brunette waitress reported that Tess was having a hard time dealing with everything.

"I'm not used to this," Tess admitted slowly.

"To what?" Alex asked, confused.

Tess gave a wry grin. "Caring," she answered bitterly. Lowering her voice so that they would not be overheard, she said, "Human emotions. I… I always felt something, but never… never this strong. Nasedo…" She didn't finish the sentence, just shrugged and looked down at the tile floor under their feet.

"Nasedo wasn't big on emotions?" Alex supplied.

Tess shook her head. "I didn't… even care as much when it was… the skins…" She took a deep breath, remembering the fire that had erupted from her, uncontrollable and dangerous. It had saved their lives, and at the time, that had been the only thing that really mattered to her. But now… things weren't quite as black and white.

"Matt wasn't our enemy," Alex answered. "That's what makes it different."

"But the Seeker was," Tess murmured, "and his death isn't any easier for me to deal with."

"He wasn't really, though," Alex countered. "Khivar manipulated him. Like he manipulated everything else."

Tess smiled faintly and said ironically, "There was a time, Alex, when I might have just killed you." Alex looked at her, startled, and she explained, "If we hadn't been able to rescue you, if the Seeker didn't tell us how to fight Khivar… you were a threat, and Michael, Isabel, and… Max… were in danger. There was a time when I would have just killed you to save them. I might have regretted it, but I still would have done it. It's what Nasedo raised me to be."

"A killer?" Alex asked sarcastically.

But Tess answered, "A survivor." After a moment, she added, "Although sometimes I think those two might actually be the same thing."

"It's a war," Alex said simply. "People die."

Tess raised an eyebrow and said softly, "Careful, Alex. You're starting to sound as cold-hearted as me."

"You were never cold-hearted," Alex protested, knowing full well that that was exactly what everyone thought of her when they first met her. And Tess knew that as well, because she easily caught the lie in his words and rolled her eyes.

"The more I think back on my life, the more I despise the person that I was, the person that Nasedo taught me to be," Tess said, her voice tinted with anger. "He turned me into a monster."

"Yes," Alex agreed, "but it was those skills that he taught you, those techniques that turned you into a monster, that ended up saving us time and time again."

"So what do I do?" Tess asked. "What do we both do now?"

"We stop thinking about the past and start thinking about the future," Alex answered, even though he knew that was easier said than done. "We rebuild our lives." Then, as he thought about that, he asked, "How do you think someone goes about rebuilding their life?"

"Slowly," Tess replied with a slight smile. "And one step at a time."

* * *

"Why didn't you tell us what was going on?" Maria demanded, hands on her hips as she glared at Michael and Max. They had made the mistake of entering the Crashdown only moments before, at a point when Maria was still working her shift. And the blonde human was holding on to her anger about being left out of the plan to save Alex and Tess. 

Max glanced around. The Crashdown was relatively empty, for which he was grateful.

Michael answered the question bluntly, "You would have only slowed us down."

"I saved Tess' life!" Maria spat back, keeping her voice as quiet as possible to avoid having her words overhead by anyone. "Did you consider that a waste of time? Should I have just let her die?"

"We aren't in this together anymore, Maria," Max countered. "It isn't the eight of us. It is for the best…"

"For the best?" Maria mimicked, rolling her eyes. "How was this possibly for the best?"

"For God's sake, Maria, you'd just yelled at us in front of an entire diner," Max retorted, conjuring up images of the fight that had caused Tess to run from the diner right before she'd been kidnapped by the Seeker. It seemed like it had happened years ago, when in fact it had only been a few days.

"I was angry," Maria said, "and I regretted a lot of the things I said to you. But that isn't a reason to keep us in the dark when it is Alex's life you are playing with."

"And if you are too busy letting your temper get the best of you, is it really any wonder that we didn't know if bringing you into the conversation was a good idea?" Max asked with a hard stare.

"I had every reason to be mad at you," Maria snapped. "Maybe I overreacted, but you were still being a jerk to Liz and she is my best friend. Did you really think I was going to just sit back and let you act like that?" She crossed her arms over her chest and gave Max a defiant stare, daring him to argue with her.

"Liz and I broke up. For good," Max said through clenched teeth. "And that was not anymore my fault than it was hers. We're just not…" He sighed and looked away. "It really isn't any of your business."

Michael, deciding to intervene, said angrily, "This isn't about Liz, is it?" Maria and Max both looked at him, but he spoke only to Maria. "You aren't here yelling at us because of that. You aren't even that upset that we left you out of the plan in the first place. You're upset because of what happened to Alex. You still blame us for it, and then when we try to fix it and don't tell you, you're scared that something could have gone wrong and…"

"And I would never have had a chance to say goodbye?" Maria filled in when Michael didn't finish the sentence. She hesitated, then said, "I'm not… I don't blame you for what happened… with Khivar."

"It feels like you are," Michael said softly.

Maria nodded and said sincerely, "Then I am sorry. I didn't mean for that to happen. I just… Alex is my best friend and you made decisions about his life without telling Liz or I. You can't do that."

"Like I said, Maria, we aren't a group of eight anymore," Max interrupted.

"Maybe not," Maria consented, "but Alex is my best friend."

Max opened his mouth to say something, and then stopped and shook his head. "I'm sorry."

"What?" Maria asked, clearly not expecting him to actually give in that quickly.

"I'm sorry. I'm sorry I was a jerk to Liz. I'm sorry that we didn't include you in this. I'm sorry we made decisions regarding Alex's life without consulting you. But if I could go to the past and change everything, I still wouldn't. I'd make the same mistakes because at the time I thought what I was doing was for the best. You can hate me, but don't doubt that I had Alex's best interests at heart."

"You're apologizing," Maria said, dumbfounded.

"Yes," Max replied, a tight smile on his face. "It's a new leaf I've turned over. It's called taking responsibility for my actions."

Maria managed to return the smile. "Okay," she said. "Well… I guess I'll stop yelling at you then." She hesitated, then added, "But in the future…"

"I will consult you before doing anything that could so drastically affect your life, Liz's life, or Alex's life…" Max paused, then added, "If I think I have the time to do it." Maria narrowed her eyes at him, but Max just said, "I can't promise I'll always be able to make everybody happy. All I can promise is I'll always try to keep everyone safe."

Maria slowly nodded, seeing the sincerity in Max's eyes. "I guess I can live with that," she said at last. She ran a hand through her hair, then asked, "So I guess this is goodbye?"

"You'll still see us around," Michael cut in quickly. "We just need to work things out…"

"Less human involvement in Czechoslovakian problems," Maria agreed. "I think Liz was right about that."

Max stepped past Maria to the nearest table. Michael was about to follow, but Maria caught his arm and looked up at him, eyes large and filled with an emotion he couldn't identify.

"Stay safe," Maria said quietly.

Michael tried to give her a reassuring smile, but he wasn't sure how well he succeeded. "You, too," he replied.

* * *

"What are you doing?" Jim asked in confusion, watching as Tess slowly piled all of her belongings on top of Kyle's bed. The blonde hybrid, having not her heard his approach, jumped and turned to look at him, somewhat guiltily. 

"Starting over," she admitted. "I thought…" She didn't finish the sentence.

"You thought what?" Jim pressed, growing a little worried.

"I thought it might be best if I moved out," Tess said all in a rush, averting her gaze so that she wouldn't have to see Jim's expression. "I could get an apartment… maybe stay with Michael until I figure something out." She hadn't really thought the plan through that well, but she wanted to make a fresh start of everything, and it seemed like that involved moving away from Kyle and Jim.

"Why?" Jim asked, and she could hear the surprise and hurt in his voice.

"There's a criminally insane alien madman out there, and he wants to kill us all?" Tess deadpanned. She changed a look at Jim, and he was staring at her with incredulity. She hurried to explain, "Matt is dead because he tried to save me. I can't… if it had been you or Kyle…" Her words choked in her throat and she looked down at the floor.

"So you're leaving? Just like that?" Jim demanded.

"I can't risk putting you in danger," Tess pleaded with him to understand. "I can't… I can't do that. I just can't."

"Tess, before you moved in here, the FBI tortured Max in the white room, Kyle got shot, Michael killed Agent Pierce, and Pierce and Nasedo were both responsible for several other deaths," Jim said firmly. "I was under no delusions about the danger we would be in by letting you into our home. I knew what we were getting into, and I made the decision to do it anyway."

"Because Max had healed Kyle and you felt indebted," Tess countered quietly.

Jim shrugged. "Originally? Yes, that was the reason. But whatever the reason I opened my door in the first place, you're here now. You're family now. You've got more than just Max, Michael, and Isabel. You have us too. We'll face these problems together."

"They'll keep coming," Tess warned. "These problems, they're never going to fully go away. They'll keep coming."

Jim nodded. "Yes," he agreed. "And we'll keep fighting back. As a family."

* * *

"Penny for your thoughts?" Max offered as he settled on the sofa next to Isabel. Both his parents were gone, leaving the two siblings alone in the house. Isabel had been sitting in the living room, staring at nothing for a while, lost in her own thoughts. She glanced over at Max and sighed. 

"The Seeker and his daughter… Lessa," she admitted.

Max swallowed. In all the grieving they had done for Matt, the Seeker's death had been overlooked. But he was still dead, his body nothing more than dirt and ash scattered on the wind. He, too, had been lied to and manipulated, betrayed by Khivar. And Lessa's death was still unavenged.

"It's not fair," Isabel murmured. "He just wanted his daughter…"

"No," Max replied, "he wanted something else. He wanted revenge. Nothing could bring his daughter back, so he just wanted to hurt the person he perceived as responsible."

"Even though she wasn't," Isabel said heavily, thinking of how close they had come to losing Tess simply because of Khivar's lies.

"Yeah," Max muttered. "I thought… sometimes I wondered…"

"If Ava really was a murderer?" Isabel finished. Max nodded guiltily, and Isabel pointed out, "I think we all wondered that. Even Tess."

"Yes," Max said, "but now I sit here and I can't figure out how I ever would have thought that of her. She's my family. Our family."

"But not the way Michael and I are," Isabel retorted. "Biologically she was family, but we didn't even know her for the first ten years. We're not… we're not horrible people. We were just scared."

Max considered this for a moment, then said, "I can't afford to be scared anymore. People have already died."

"People die because of this every single day," Isabel murmured. "It's a war. We're just far away from it."

"Not anymore. Not since the Seeker arrived," Max answered. "Before, it was like we could claim ignorance, that we didn't completely understand. Now… He came. We saw first hand what war does to people. I can't pretend that I don't know what is going on…"

"It isn't fair," Isabel said firmly, angrily. "Khivar doesn't even suffer for what he did, but the Seeker, all of us, Alex…" She pressed her fingers together into a tight fist. "He should have had to suffer more." She hadn't been there when Khivar revealed the truth about how Lessa had died, but she had heard Michael's version of the story, and she couldn't perfectly picture the anguish she knew the Seeker had to have been feeling to learn that he had been betrayed and manipulated by the skin king.

"Yes," Max agreed emphatically, "but what should happen and what actually do happen are two very different scenarios." He placed his hand on Isabel's shoulder. "None of this is very fair for anyone. Like you said, it's a war. People die every day."

"Why? It seems so… _pointless_," Isabel questioned. She knew it was a naïve thing to say, but she simply couldn't wrap her head around the fact that this was something worth killing people over. She wondered if Lessa had even known how much danger she was in. She wondered if anyone had bothered to explain to her why she was going to be killed.

"I don't know," Max replied honestly. "I don't know much of anything. But whatever happened in the past can't be changed. And we can't stop this war either, because Khivar isn't going to stop. This is the situation we were given, and we're here, now, and this is what we have to deal with."

* * *

Nasedo POV 

People say they don't put a value on life. It is invaluable.

And yet, every day, you make a decision about what is and what isn't important to you.

Max, Michael, Isabel, Maria, and Liz would never have hurt Alex. They just didn't have it in them. They would have left Khivar in his body, trying to find a way to save him, until it was far too late to do anything. Alex, on the other hand, probably would have preferred to die before letting Khivar use his body for genocide and annihilation of the Earth. And Tess vacillates back and forth between willingly killing Alex to stop Khivar and willingly letting the Earth burn a thousand times over to keep Alex alive.

Max, Michael, Isabel, Maria, and Liz all made the decision that Alex's life was more important to them than all the enslaved and ruined lives on Antar. Alex was their friend, and Antar is something very far away.

Alex made the decision that it was more important to him to not be a mass-murderer than to be alive.

And Tess has been so screwed up by human emotions that she doesn't know what matters to her anymore.

Which disgusts me. How could I have let the Valentis do that to her? At first, I was pleased that they had taken her in after my death. After all, the skins were out there and she needed to be somewhere safe. But then, when she actually became a part of that _human_ family…

But I digress…

We all make decisions every day. We chose one path over another, we fight for one cause instead of a different one. Sometimes these choices have to do with our values and morals, sometimes they have to do with our skills, and occasionally they have nothing to do with anything and just sort of happen.

But we always make choices, we _always_ place a value on life.

It isn't good and it isn't bad. It just is, and we all need to accept that and move on. Life doesn't matter on its own, we have to attach meaning to it before anyone cares. Absolute morals and ethics change from situation to situation and when we say murder is wrong we only mean the act of killing someone; it is not as wrong to let people die, especially when you don't know them, when they're far away locked in some other struggle.

We can't save everyone. We can't fix every problem. There are simply too many limitations on what we can do, too many evils that we'll never really manage to destroy anyway.

Everybody screws up. Being a good person doesn't mean you don't make mistakes, you don't care about one more than another, you don't let people in far away countries die. But we add human emotions to the mess and everything gets so muddled that you can't see straight anymore. And you have to dig your way through figurative quick-sand to be able to find any answers, and half the time the answers don't matter anymore because you're now having to deal with a new situation and a new problem.

Tess knows. She's already learned how to deal with this. She just needs to remember it. And Max, Michael, and Isabel, they'll learn also.

Things happen. People die. That's life.

You get up and you keep fighting. That's survival.


	37. Gravity

Title: Providence

Disclaimer: I don't own anything

Author's note: Usually I give a little bit more warning when the end of a story approaches, so sorry about the abruptness of everything. There will be one more chapter after this, and then it's over. Hope you've all enjoyed reading it as much as I've enjoyed writing it.

* * *

Chapter Thirty-Seven: Gravity

"So… Michael and Isabel seem to be dating, Alex and Liz are constantly making moon-eyes at each other, and Max is staring at Tess like a little lost puppy," Kyle muttered under his breath as he approached Maria at her locker. "Can this day get anymore awkward?"

"You know what I realized?" Maria offered, closing her locker as she turned to face Kyle. "You and I are the only truly unattached two in the group. No boyfriends or girlfriends or significant others."

Kyle smirked slightly and said suggestively, "Care to change that?"

Maria wrinkled her nose and shot back, "That is so wrong on so many levels, Valenti."

Kyle grinned and retorted, "It was just a joke, Maria. You really think I would stoop so low to actually date _you_?"

"I am a great catch," Maria retorted.

"Yeah, if you like abrasive, annoying, motor-mouths," Kyle answered easily, his eyes filling with mirth as he saw Maria's face darken in mock anger. "Personally, you're not my type."

"Of course," Maria said seriously. "You're type is the bleached-blonde cheerleader with heavy makeup and an IQ of 7."

"Hey! That's not true," Kyle protested.

Maria raised an eyebrow challengingly. "Name one girl you dated, other than Liz, who doesn't fit that description?"

Kyle placed his hands on his hips and said defiantly, "I'll have you know that the girls I date always have an IQ more than 7." He grinned impishly and added, "It's at least 15."

Maria laughed outright at his comment.

"Besides, who cares if the girls are intelligent? It's only the looks that matter. Everyone knows that," Kyle pointed out. "Girls are supposed to be seen, not heard."

"You're a chauvinistic pig," Maria commented dryly.

"And proud of it," Kyle agreed with a curt nod. Maria struggled not to laugh, and Kyle sobered and said seriously, "How are you doing? I mean, with this whole Michael and Isabel thing? Are you… okay?"

"No," Maria said honestly, and as if to reiterate her statement, Michael and Isabel appeared suddenly at the end of the hallway, walking close to each other. They weren't holding hands, but Isabel was looking at Michael with a look of such tenderness that Maria forced herself to look away.

Kyle glanced over at the two hybrids and growled, "Do you want me to beat him up for you?"

"No," Maria said quickly. "You can't help who you fall in love with, and Michael and I… we just drifted apart." She shrugged, somewhat sorrowfully, and added, "I'll be okay. It's just going to take some time."

"Healing always does," Kyle said sagely, and Maria nodded.

"A lot has happened to us… all of us," Maria explained. "But the Czechoslovakians… it must be so hard for them, you know? If Isabel makes Michael happy… shouldn't I be glad? If I really cared about Michael…"

"You do really care about Michael," Kyle said firmly. "It's just never easy to see the guy you love seek comfort from a different girl." He wracked his brain, trying to come up with the right thing to say, and settled at last for promising, "The right guy is out there somewhere, Maria. And I'm sure you're going to find him."

"Hm… that's a very girly thing to say," Maria remarked casually. "Let me guess… that's the sort of thing that Tess would have instructed you to say?"

"One of the good things about having a sister," Kyle admitted, "you've got someone to tell you all the right things to say so that you don't end up sounding like an idiot all the time."

"You'd sound like an idiot no matter what," Maria shot back.

"Thanks," Kyle muttered sarcastically.

"How is Tess?" Maria asked tentatively, and Kyle winced.

"She tried to run away from home," he said wearily. "Wanted to live with Michael. I guess she thought it would keep my Dad and I safer…" He trailed off and shrugged. "She's dealing, I guess. It's hard."

"And how are you?" Maria pressed. "I know you and Matt were friends."

Kyle looked away, slightly ashamed of the tears that pooled in his eyes. He blinked, preventing them from calling, and forced himself to reply in a steady voice, "I'm dealing also."

"I'm sorry," Maria said, laying a hand on his arm. "It's so hard, being here… and thinking that he's not going to…" She didn't finish the sentence right away, struggling for the appropriate words. "It's hard for me, and I barely knew Matt. I can't imagine what you're going through."

"I wish I could have saved him," Kyle said quietly, knowing how trite his words sounded, knowing they couldn't possible encompass all the sorrow and grief he felt.

"Don't we all," Maria muttered.

Michael and Isabel had disappeared from view, and Maria let out the breath she didn't realize she'd been holding. It still hurt more than she wanted to admit, seeing Michael with Isabel. But at the same time, Matt was dead, the Seeker was dead, Khivar was probably planning a counter attack on all of Earth, and the fate of at least two worlds rested on the shoulders of four teenagers with limited knowledge of their past or their powers. There were more important things to worry about than the pain of her broken relationship with Michael. There was always a bigger picture out there, and it hurt that it had taken the death of an innocent human being to show her that. But now that she saw the truth for what it was, she wasn't going to keep making the same mistakes. It was time to let go, to move on.

"I have to get to the Crashdown," Maria said finally. "My shift starts soon." She looked down at her backpack, full of books, and grumbled, "And then I get to spend the evening alone, in my room, with only my textbooks for company."

"Well, if you're looking for something to distract you…" Kyle leered at her. He couldn't imagine himself actually pursuing any relationship with her, but it was still fun to joke about it. In some ways, she was like Tess, like the sister he had never had before. And if his father and Amy DeLuca had any say in it, they might actually end up as siblings…

He shuddered at the thought, but forced himself to focus on the present conversation.

"Ask Liz. I'm pretty good at showing girls a good time…" he added with a smirk.

Maria laughed and shook her head. "No chance in hell, Valenti."

"Your loss, DeLuca," he retorted. "Your loss."

* * *

"So… how are you doing?" Liz asked awkwardly as she shifted from one foot to the other, watching Alex with apprehensive eyes. 

"Relax, Liz," Alex said in an attempt at humor, "I'm not going to explode. You don't need to check in on me every second."

Liz smiled slightly at his words, recognizing his attempt to keep the conversation light. "You exaggerate. I don't check on you every second." She slanted him a look. "Just every minute."

"Touché," Alex murmured. He ran a hand through his hair, then said, "I saw Max today, during lunch. He seemed… I don't know. Different. More… in charge. Like…"

"A king?" Liz suggested. "Yeah, he's been changing a lot." She said the words with some sorrow, regret for what she had lost. But it didn't hurt as uncontrollably as it might have in the past. She looked into Alex's blue eyes, and smiled more widely. "He's maturing."

"Ah… little Maxie all grown up," Alex agreed. He refrained from mentioning what else he had seen at lunch today; namely Max staring at Tess with an incredible intensity while she remained completely oblivious to him. He wasn't sure how Liz would react.

"Are you okay?" Liz asked, seeing the faraway look that came into Alex's eyes.

Alex tilted his head to the side and said pointedly, "Now, that was definitely not a full minute from the last time you asked."

"You looked…" Liz blushed and pulled at a few strands of hair. "You looked like you were thinking about something troublesome."

"It's hard, but I'm working on it," Alex said vaguely. He didn't give any specifics, and he knew Liz wouldn't ask. Unlike Maria, she didn't feel the need to pound him for details in an effort to make him work through his problems out loud and start the healing process. She would just let him talk when he wanted to and remain silent when he didn't.

"I heard Tess tried to move out of the Valentis' house and Jim wouldn't let her," Liz said at last.

"Really?" Alex questioned.

Liz nodded. "Kyle told Maria. She told me."

"Interesting," Alex mused. Then he said, "Maybe she realized that Amy DeLuca and Jim Valenti were getting closer and wanted to jump ship before anything serious started happening between them?"

"Do you really think something is going to happen?" Liz asked curiously.

"Maria says they're all over each other. She's walked in on them kissing several times," Alex confided.

"Maria DeLuca and Kyle Valenti as brother and sister," Liz mused. "Now that is something I'd pay to see. God… they'd kill each other within a week."

"A week?" Alex questioned. "That's generous. I'd give them two days. Three days at the very most." It felt good to talk about something like this, something that wasn't earth-shattering or mind-blowing or future-changing. Something that was light and casual and didn't involve aliens and possession and death and war.

Liz nodded, squeezing Alex's hand unconsciously. Once she realized that she was actually holding his hand, however, she dropped it quickly, as though she had been burnt. Her face flushed, and she looked at the ground, suddenly ill at ease.

Alex stared at his hand uncomprehendingly, as though he couldn't quite understand what had happened, as though hand-holding was a foreign concept to him.

"Uh…" Liz couldn't think of anything to say, so she blurted out the first thing that came to mind. "Do you have a lot of homework?" She knew it was stupid, but she couldn't stop the cringe-worthy words from coming out of her mouth.

"Homework?" Alex echoed, staring at Liz as though he'd never seen her before. "Uh… I guess."

For an awkward moment, Liz wondered if they'd ever be able to talk normally again. Did Alex know how she felt? Could he see any of her feelings in her expression, in her eyes? Probably not. After all, she barely understood what she felt. It was different from the tidal wave of emotions that threatened to consume her when she was with Max. It was quiet and gentle and…

She blinked. She was creating poetry in her head. It was a sign. She was officially going insane.

Alex, for his part, wondered what he was supposed to say now. Did Liz know that he had been so terrified when Khivar had threatened to kill her? Did she realize that it was that terrible possibility that had worried him more than anything else? Did she know that his dreams were no longer haunted by Isabel's face, but by hers?

It had been a subtle change. First he had fallen out of love with Isabel, realizing that what he felt for her was simply a hormonal crush, and that she didn't love him the same way he loved her. After that understanding, he had come to view Liz as more than just a best friend, but that change had been so minute that he didn't recognize it for what it was. And yet, now, as the brunette jumped around him, uneasy and scared, he couldn't help but feel the strange desire to offer her comfort and reassure her, although he had no idea how.

"So…"

"Yeah…"

"I guess I should get home," Alex said finally, not really knowing what else to say. "I'll see you tomorrow?"

"Yeah…" Liz replied. But when Alex had left, she slapped herself on the forehead for being an idiot and wondered how on Earth she was going to get through the next several weeks without making herself appear absolutely insane.

* * *

Isabel dropped into the booth, taking the seat across from Michael. They had decided to grab a quick bite at the Crashdown, but now she was feeling slightly guilty about that as she saw that Maria was working a shift this afternoon. But the blonde human was studiously avoiding the two aliens, and it would be all to obvious if they got up and left without ordering. 

She could tell by the way that Michael kept glancing over at Maria that he felt uneasy about hanging out with Isabel in front of his ex-girlfriend. Clearly, he did not want to do anything to cause Maria any more pain, and it was a very gallant side of Michael that she found she really liked. He could be so sweet, when he actually deigned to try it…

More to break the silence then anything else, Isabel said, "I ran into Alex on my way over here. He had been hanging out with Liz. Apparently, Tess tried to leave Kyle's house."

"Oh?" Michael asked, torn between intrigue at this strange turn of events and jealousy that Isabel had seen Alex.

"Yeah. I guess she's terrified that her continued association with them might put them in danger," Isabel explained. After what had happened to Matt, she could see why Tess would be worried about something like that, but she also wanted what was best for her friend, and what was best for Tess was certainly not moving away from her human family.

"Makes sense that she would feel that way," Michael consented. "But I take it she didn't end up going through with the plan?"

"Valenti talked her out of it," Isabel confided.

"Good for him," Michael said with an approving nod. He hesitated, then asked, "Do you know how she is doing?"

Isabel shrugged. "Not really. I've tried talking to her about everything, but…" She drifted off, glancing around the diner. "She's strong, she'll make it through," she said with conviction. "As long as she knows we're here for her."

"And… how's Alex?" Michael ventured, not sure he actually wanted an answer.

"Same as Tess, I think," Isabel replied, oblivious to Michael's inner envy. "Liz and Maria have really helped, I guess."

"That's good," Michael muttered. "So…"

Isabel looked at him expectantly, and he felt the words die in his throat. Funny how he was able to fight the Seeker and Khivar with all the strength in his body and yet one look from Isabel and he couldn't even remember how to form coherent sentences.

"Yes?" Isabel prompted.

"Do you want to… go out?" Michael said at last.

Isabel blinked, startled. "Like, on a date?" she questioned. Michael nodded, and a smile started to spread slowly across her face.

It was replaced a moment later with a look or horror as she noticed that Maria was standing right behind Michael, and had overheard everything.

"Uh… Maria…"

Michael turned at Isabel's stammered statement and the color drained from his face.

Maria swallowed and said, "I was just going to see if you guys were ready to order. Should I… should I come back later?" She looked like she might cry, but was struggling to put up a brave front.

Michael nodded wordlessly.

Once Maria left, Isabel took a shaky breath and said, "Michael, I'm sorry, I should have seen that she was there earlier…"

"Not your fault," Michael said automatically. Isabel seemed unconvinced, but he took her hand in his and repeated in a firmer tone, "Not your fault."

Isabel said quietly, "I would love to." Michael gave her a blank look, and she elaborated, "Go out with you. I would love to."

Michael smiled, his face shining with radiant happiness she so rarely saw. It made Isabel beam, and from the other side of the room, Maria saw the glow emanating from the two of them and turned away.

"I'll be right back," Michael said abruptly, jerking his head towards Maria. He needed to talk to her, to apologize. He needed to make sure that they were still okay because he still wanted her friendship.

Isabel nodded understandingly, gesturing for him to go.

As Michael approached her, Maria took a deep breath and slowly exhaled, forcing herself to remain calm. He stopped in front of her, and before he had a chance to say anything, she was already speaking. She didn't want his apologies or explanations, she just wanted everything to be alright, and she knew if she talked now, she could prevent anything from going wrong.

She could save them both a lot of pain.

"Purple roses."

"What?" Michael asked, completely thrown by her seemingly random comment.

"You buy a girl flowers when you first start going out with them," Maria explained patiently, adopting the tone of someone explaining basic arithmetic to a second-grader. "And Isabel's favorite flowers are purple roses."

"How do you know that?" Michael demanded.

Maria rolled her eyes. "That's the sort of thing that we girls just know," she answered. "Purple roses are pretty rare, you won't find them in any grocery stores. But there is that florist on Main Street. You might be able to find them there."

"Why are you telling me this?" Michael asked suspiciously, not quite sure he believed that Maria was just trying to help him.

Instead of getting offended by the question, however, Maria just chuckled. "Because it isn't something you would have figured out on your own. From my own personal experience, you tend to be oblivious to that sort of thing." She gave him one last smile, then turned and walked back into the backroom of the Crashdown.

Michael stared as the door shut behind his ex-girlfriend. He knew that she wasn't okay with this, that she was simply putting on a brave face. He knew her well enough to see the tiny lines of hurt around her eyes. But she was trying, and in some way, she'd just given him her acceptance to do this.

Maybe things would turn out alright after all.

He walked back to Isabel, who questioned him silently with her eyes, and gave a tiny nod. She smiled in response, and he slipped his hand over hers.

"Do you think everything's going to be okay?" Isabel questioned, and Michael knew she was asking about more than just the two of them. She was asking about Khivar and Antar and Earth and everyone whose lives would be affected by this.

"We have Max and Tess," Michael replied, "and I've got you. We'll be able to survive this."

"Yes," Isabel agreed. "You've got me."

* * *

Tess looked up as Max appeared in the doorway of her room. She was a little surprised to see him, but she beckoned for him to enter. 

"I had to wait until Kyle wasn't here," Max explained as he sat down on the edge of her bed. "He's still not letting me into the house."

"He's trying to protect me," Tess replied.

"I know," Max agreed. "He's a good older brother."

"I'm lucky to have him," Tess answered.

"And he's lucky to have you," Max said firmly. "Which is why I'm glad you didn't end up leaving them."

Tess looked confused, and Max elaborated, "You wanted to leave, didn't you? Move out? So that you wouldn't put them in any danger?" Tess didn't deny his comment, so he shrugged and said, "I don't think Kyle and Valenti would have survived that. They need you. You're part of their family. I see it… when I look at the three of you. I see how close you all are, and I know that it is pretty much because of you."

Tess tensed at his words, wishing that she could truly believe them. But it was hard, when people she had cared about had died in the past.

"How did you know I was thinking of leaving?" she asked to keep her mind of other, darker, subjects.

Max laughed and said, "Kyle told Maria who told Liz who told Alex who told Isabel who told Michael who told me." Tess looked almost enraged about that, so Max hurried to say, "They're just concerned. We all want what is best for you."

Part of Tess was furious that her private life was apparently fair game for any conversation, and the other part of her was almost screaming in joy that everyone actually cared about her enough to pay so much attention to the details of her life.

"People are going to talk about you," Max said, correctly interpreting Tess' silence. "You can't change that. It's part of being a family."

A family. Tess felt her eyes burn with unshed tears.

"So… why are you here, Max?" the hybrid Queen asked, forcing her voice to remain calm and neutral.

Max looked decidedly uncomfortable, then said, "I wanted to talk about us."

"Max, I'm not…" Tess started, but Max held up a hand to forestall her.

"I know," he said quickly. "You aren't ready for that conversation, and it isn't the one I wanted to have with you right now. I know it's too early and I know Matt was…" He shrugged and looked away. "Just hear me out? Please?"

Tess nodded.

"I love you," Max said. "And I don't know if you love me. Honestly, I'd be a little surprised if you still did, given the way I've treated you in the past. But I… I know that you aren't ready to even consider me as a potential boyfriend. I know that you loved Matt, and that you're still grieving him, and I… I don't want to take away from that. I just… I just wanted you to know that I'm here for you. As a friend… just a friend. There's no pressure, no anything… Just… if you need me, I can be here for you. No strings attached."

Tess looked on the verge of tears, and Max pushed ahead quickly, wanting to say everything all at once, hoping that she would understand what he was trying to convey.

"I'll be your friend, your brother, anything you need…" Max drew a breath. "I wish I had been better to you in the past. I wish…"

"You weren't horrible," Tess said, tears now spilling out of her eyes and coursing down her cheeks. "I came with all my talk of destiny and you had never even met me before and I… I understand why you didn't trust me, why you didn't like me. You loved Liz and I…" She didn't finish the sentence, just broke down into more tears.

"You're too forgiving," Max reprimanded gently. He didn't know exactly what to do, but giving her a hug seemed like a good idea, and the next thing he knew she was wrapped in his arms, sobbing onto his chest.

"It hurts," she said, her voice muffled by Max's clothes. "I love him and now he's… it just hurts so much."

"I know," Max replied, pulling her closer. "I know."

After several moments, Tess straightened slightly, tears still pouring from her half-closed eyes. She rested her head on his shoulder. "I miss him."

"I know," Max repeated.

Tess looked at him. Here Max was, comforting her for the loss of her boyfriend. He claimed he loved her, and yet he showed no signs of anger of jealousy that she was this distraught over another boy. It took a moment for her to realize it, but she said with dawning comprehension, "You really love me."

Max smiled at the confused tone of her voice and said, "I do."

"Max, I…"

"Shh…" Max whispered. "It's okay. You don't have to say anything."

"Yes," Tess said, struggling to speak through her tears, "I do. You have to understand. I… I can't think about anything besides Matt right now, and I don't know when… if… that is going to change. I can't promise that I'll be…"

"Is there any chance that you might decide you love me back? Some day?" Max asked, staring Tess straight in the eye.

Tess nodded slowly. "Maybe. I think… But I just… I don't know, Max. I don't know how long grieving takes. I just…"

"I'll wait," Max said firmly. "If there's a chance... You waited for me, I can wait for you."

Tess opted not to argue to the point, but simply fell back against Max's shoulder, staring blankly into space. "I love him," she said again, but now she wasn't sure who she was speaking about anymore.

Max tightened his grip around her shoulders. "We're here for you, Tess. You know that, right?"

"I know," Tess said softly. "I know."

* * *

Destiny is like gravity. You can't see it, you can't measure it, and most of the time you can't understand it. But it is still there, still controlling everything around you. And no matter how much you want it to change, it's never going to bend to your whims. You can scream until you lose your voice, you can jump up and down until your legs collapse from exhaustion, you can beg and plead and threaten. But the world still turns, and the sun and moon still rise and fall, unconcerned by your ardent defiance. 


	38. Epilogue: Providence

Title: Providence

Disclaimer: I don't own anything

Author's note: Well, this is it, the final chapter. At the request that I write at least one more chapter with actually Max/Tess dating in it, I've decided to write a one-shot follow up to this. I am entitling it _One Thousand Purple Roses_ and it should be posted within the week. But this story is now officially over.

However... in a shameless plug for my own stories... I am starting a new Tess-centric story called _On My Knees_. It is going to be sort of similar to my _Salvation Series_ in that it is not Max/Tess but just very, very pro-Tess. As I am in the middle of way too many stories at the moment, it will take me a little while to start this next one, but I should begin posting chapters by the end of the month.

* * *

Epilogue: Providence

_Fear not, but trust in Providence, wherever thou may'st be.  
-- __Thomas Haynes Bayly_

_One year later…_

The Crashdown was filled with seniors from Roswell High School, milling about, laughing, chatting, exchanging jokes. The last day of school had finally let out, and tomorrow they would graduate, take their diplomas, and start a new life in the world of adulthood. They were loud and rambunctious, enjoying this one last chance to be irresponsible high school students before they had to face the real world.

Only one group of students remained apart from the others. Two girls and two boys, sitting together in a booth at the back of the diner. They were quiet, their faces serious. They watched, but did not partake of, the bustling activity all around them.

Finally, the taller of the two girls spoke, breaking the silence.

"Graduation. Who would have thought?"

"Didn't think we'd graduate, Izzy?" her brother teased.

Isabel sent him an annoyed look. Then she grinned mischievously and commented, "Well, Max, I did have some concerns about you…"

The other girl said softly, "We were lucky. We shouldn't forget that… shouldn't forget how lucky we've been."

"Of course," the four, a boy, answered. "We won't forget, Tess."

"Michael's right," Max agreed. "We won't ever forget."

At that moment, another girl joined the group. She was wearing an apron and a pair of ridiculous antennas-part of the waitress outfit. Her short blonde hair was pulled back from her face and she did not look happy.

"I walked in on my mom and Jim kissing," she announced with a grimace, her words directed towards the girl named Tess. "My mom and Jim…" She shivered. "It's like… ugh… people that age should not be allowed to kiss."

Tess smiled, the serious expression slipping from her face for a moment. "I walked in on them kissing in the kitchen at my house. I think they were planning on doing a little bit more than kissing if I hadn't come back then…"

Maria scrunched up her face in disgust. "This is a nightmare. Do they not have a little common decency and respect? I mean, saying they're going to date is one thing, but actually kissing…?" She shook her head, and appeared to be about to continue her exposition on the subject when another waitress called over to her.

"Maria? You're supposed to serve the patrons, not chat with them."

Maria rolled her eyes at the brunette who had spoken and replied in a huff, "Alright, alright. Relax, Liz." She walked away, but not before exchanging one last exasperated look with Tess.

"So… Amy and Jim, huh?" Max asked with a raised eyebrow.

Tess nodded. "You can just imagine how thrilled Kyle is about this. Soon he might actually have to say that Maria is his _sister_." She made an expression of mock horror at the thought, and the other three cracked small smiles at her antics.

"Oh," Isabel said suddenly, nodding towards the door of the diner which had just swung open. "It's Alex." Michael and Max twisted in their seats to watch the blue-eyed boy enter.

"I guess he's come to sit in the corner and stare at Liz some more," Michael said dryly.

Max smiled and waved to Alex, who made his way over to the table. Then he turned to Michael and said under his breath, "He really should just ask her out already. It's obvious that he likes her."

"Yeah…" Michael drawled. "This coming from the guy who spent ten years staring at her before getting the nerve to do that." Max glared at him, but he just smiled back, and Isabel chuckled a little.

"He's got a point, Max," Tess agreed with Michael. "You saying that is rather like that pot calling the kettle black." Isabel gave her a strange look, surprised that she could tease about something like that, but Tess just smiled back at her, not in the least upset by Max's past infatuation with Liz.

"What are you talking about?" Alex asked pleasantly as he joined the other four.

"Oh, you know, just stuff," Isabel said teasingly. "You know, graduation, future plans, Amy DeLuca and Jim Valenti getting some action… and how much action you and Liz _aren't_ getting…"

Alex flushed deep red and looked over at Liz. The brunette caught his eye and gave him a smile before turning back to her work, and he flushed even darker.

"Come on, lover boy, just talk to her already," Michael grumbled. Although he wouldn't admit it, he was looking forward to the point in time when Liz and Alex finally got together. He knew that Isabel was his, but he also knew that she and Alex had a history, and that wasn't going to just disappear because she was with him now. He wanted Alex with Liz, and he wanted them to be happy, because he was still irrationally afraid of losing Isabel.

"Or what?" Alex demanded.

Isabel jumped to her feet, her face filled with laughter as all trace of the prior seriousness disappeared. "Or I will," she threatened, starting to walk towards Liz.

"Izzy! Wait," Alex protested, rushing after her and leaving Michael and Max laughing in his wake.

Tess watched the entire proceeding with a thoughtful expression on her face, then turned to Michael. "Michael," she said, "go away."

"Huh?" Michael turned to her in confusion.

"Go away," Tess repeated calmly. "I need to speak to Max… in private."

"Oh…" Michael looked from one to the other and then stood up quickly. "I guess I'll go… be somewhere else." And he turned and walked away, leaving Max and Tess alone.

"Is everything okay?" Max asked instantly, a dark looking coming into his eyes. "Has something happened?" He could envision a thousand scenarios where she was in trouble, where their enemies were returning, where something was about to go wrong.

"No," Tess answered. "Nothing's wrong. I think… I think everything is finally right."

It had been a hard year. There were constant reminders of Matt everywhere, reminders of his absence. Sometimes, when she passed Alex in the hall, their eyes would meet and she could see, reflected in his expression, her own feeling of poignant helplessness and tragedy. There were days when she would wake and for a moment she thought she heard the sound of Matt's voice or the name Lessa Du'vale or the Seeker's heavy footsteps outside her door. It was a testament to their strength that the group had survived all that had happened and a testament to Khivar's power that it haunted them still.

But most of all, it had hurt to look at Max and to see in his eyes the love that she had so desperately wanted from him before. Now that it was hers, she wondered if it had been worth it. Was Matt's life a price she would pay for Max's acceptance? Was Matt's life a price she would pay for anything?

She didn't know anything anymore, except that in the years ahead there would be more battles and more heartbreak and more difficult decisions.

And no matter what happened, there would be people at her side, fighting with her and for her.

With this in mind, she leaned across the table towards Max, and kissed him.

It took a moment for Max to realize what was going on, to respond to the kiss.

And when he did, she saw a flash of stars burst behind her closed eyelids.

"Thank you," she whispered, pulling away, "for waiting for me. For waiting this entire year."

Max looked at her, took her hand, and replied honestly, "You're worth the wait."

* * *

Across the room, Liz watched as Tess and Max kissed. Her throat felt dry as she saw their actions, but she did not feel the jealousy or hurt she had expected to experience upon witnessing such an event. There was some residual pain at seeing her first love with someone else, but that was all. 

Both Alex and Isabel saw the expression on Liz's face and turned to follow her gaze. Alex saw what was happening and glanced sharply back at Liz while Isabel hesitated, torn between happiness that her brother and Tess were finally together and regret that Liz would have to witness it.

But Liz just turned to her two friends, shook her head, and said, "You know, it's about time the two of them figured out they belonged together."

Isabel was momentarily speechless, but she quickly found her words and shot back, "Max and Tess aren't the only two who are oblivious to everything." She looked between Liz and Alex and added, "You know, I think I'm going to go be… somewhere else." And she gave Alex a knowing smile and a none-too-subtle push towards Liz and walked away.

"Subtle," Liz said dryly. "Very subtle."

Alex blushed.

* * *

"Hey, Space Boy. What are you doing?" Maria asked, walking into the backroom of the Crashdown to find Michael leaning against the counter, staring blankly at the ceiling. 

"Oh, Tess wanted to be alone with Max," Michael answered, "so I came back here to give them some… _space_." Maria was still staring at him, waiting for him to elaborate, so he sighed and said, "How is it you can tell when something is troubling me? It's kind of annoying how good you are at spotting that."

"It's a gift," Maria answered with a grin. "So? Tell Auntie Maria all about it," she prompted in an encouraging voice.

Michael glared at her, but said, "I guess I just feel like I'm waiting for the other shoe to drop. It's been so quiet for a year… what is Khivar planning next?"

Maria considered this, then asked, "How do you know he is planning anything?"

"It's a war," Michael answered bluntly. "It's not over until one side concedes defeat, and Khivar isn't going to give up until we're all dead."

"Then he'll come," Maria replied. She looked at Michael for a long moment, then replied in her own confident voice, "He'll come, and when he does, he's going to realize that you four… that we eight… aren't the type to just roll over and give up. He's got one hell of a fight on his hands."

* * *

Kyle froze, staring at Max and Tess. Tess was still leaning on the table, her hands supporting her weight, while Max had entwined his fingers through her hair. They were kissing, and it didn't look like they were coming up for air any time soon. 

"Stop it!" Kyle snapped, stepping forward and pulling Max away from Tess. They both looked up at him in surprise, and Max in a little bit of outrage, but Kyle was focused on Tess. "This is a public place! You can't kiss him here."

"Why not?" Tess challenged.

"Because you are my sister," Kyle replied. "And I just walked in on Dad and Amy kissing on our sofa. I do not need to see my sister making out with her boyfriend also." He shook his head in disgust, grabbed Tess by the arm, and pulled her to her feet. "I do not approve of this."

Tess started laughing, then stopped suddenly and said, "Oh… do you think they're going to get married?" At Kyle's blank look, she elaborated, "Amy and Jim. Then you would be Kyle Valenti-DeLuca. It would be great."

"Great?" Kyle spluttered. "You think it would be _great_? To have to call Maria my _sister_?"

"If you don't mind letting go of her," Max interrupted, "I was having a lot more fun when it was just Tess and I… You know, before you got here?" He gave Kyle a pointed stare which Kyle ignored completely.

"I don't like him," Kyle said to Tess.

"Max?"

"Yes, Max," Kyle continued. "I don't like him. I think you should break up with him and remain single forever." He glared at Max and added, "Become a nun. Enter a convent. Swear off guys for all eternity. The _last_ thing I need is to see another family member's tongue shoved down someone's throat."

"Look on the bright side, Kyle," Tess said sweetly. "Now that Max and I are really together, you can threaten to beat him up all you want. Do the 'protective older brother thing'."

Kyle looked a bit more cheerful at that and nodded appreciatively. "Hmm… That is a good point."

Max turned incredulous eyes to Tess. "Thanks," he said sarcastically, but she just smiled at him.

Maria and Michael both wandered over at that point, and Maria gave Kyle a greeting nod. Turning to Max, she said, "You know, you guys didn't actually order anything, and in case you hadn't noticed, it is kind of packed…" She waited, but Max didn't reply to her obvious hint, so she huffed impatiently and shot Tess a pleading glance.

Tess said, "Cherry Coke?"

"Saturn Rings," Michael requested.

Maria whipped out her waitress pad and wrote down the orders. "Thank you," she said with a wide smile. "Your service is greatly appreciated. We hope you will continue to patronize our establishment."

"Wouldn't it be cool is Saturn's rings were actually giant onion rings?" Kyle asked, and the other four looked at him for a moment as though they could not quite believe he had said that. "What? It would be cool," he defended himself.

"He is a jock," Max said to Maria. "He's not supposed to be smart." Maria laughed, and Tess averted her face to hide her smiles. Michael slapped Kyle on the back while the jock in question fumed indignantly.

"And just think, pretty soon you might actually end up related to him," Michael added, this commented directed at Maria.

Maria shuddered and shot back, "I'll disown my mother before I let her do that to me."

"Ditto," Kyle agreed.

"You know," Tess said, changing the subject, "I think Liz might want one of us to rescue her from the conversation she is having with Alex." She gestured over to where Alex and Liz were standing, talking animatedly. Every now and then, Liz looked over at the others and sent them a pleading stare.

But Maria, who was better at reading Liz's silently requests, said, "No, she doesn't want that. She wants one of us to go stop Isabel from observing them like a bird-watcher who just found two rare blue herons performing a mating ritual." And she jerked her head in the direction of Isabel who was sitting a little bit away from Alex and Liz and, not particularly discreetly, watching them with avid attention.

"Come on," Tess laughed, gesturing for Maria and Kyle to follow her. "Let's go distract Isabel." She lead the other two away, leaving Michael and Max alone at the table.

Max stared at all the students around them, talking and smiling, relaxed and calm. They didn't have anything to think about in the near future besides their own success. They didn't have the weight of two worlds on their shoulders. They didn't have to constantly look over their shoulders, prepared for the next attack.

Sometimes, like now, he would watch hiss friends and family talking, and he could see them as carefree teenagers. But most of the time, there was still something about all of them; a tension in the way they stood, a wariness in their eyes. They knew that this peace was only an interlude, that the war was far from over.

It had taken a long time for Liz, Maria, and Alex to bridge the distance between the aliens and create a group of eight again. And even now they were still two separate groups brought together because they knew a secret. But they were finally here, finally together, and he couldn't help but feel that they were stronger for it.

"So… you and Tess?" Michael asked, sliding into the seat opposite Max.

"Yeah," Max answered with a silly grin on his face. "Me and Tess."

"Who'd have thought that destiny actually knew what it was talking about?" Michael quipped. Then he added in a more serious tone, "We only rebelled against it because we thought it was forcing us into something we didn't want. We lost so much time, fighting the inevitable."

"I still believe we choose our own destinies," Max said thoughtfully. "I just think that the destiny I wanted and the destiny you wanted happened to be aligned with the destiny Antar wanted."

"Yeah," Michael murmured, looking over at Isabel. She was talking to Kyle and Tess now, waving her hands about, a smile glittering in her eyes. She kept looking over at Alex and Liz, as though waiting for the final outcome of their conversation. Michael felt his stomach muscles clench as he saw that. He, too, was waiting for Alex and Liz to finally make a decision.

"Stop worrying," Max said firmly, knowing exactly what Michael was thinking. "My sister loves you. Can't say I agree with her taste, but…"

Michael glowered and replied, "It's Tess' taste I wonder about."

* * *

A few hours later, Alex still had not asked Liz, but the chemistry crackled between them, and Tess knew it was only a matter of time. It wasn't the sort of thing you could rush, they had to both be ready for it. And soon, very soon, they would be… 

Maria and Liz, finally off their shifts, opted to go shopping, and left the Crashdown, waving goodbye to the others. Maria gave Alex one last teasing smile as she left and Liz slapped her best friend on the arm in retaliation for her meddling.

Alex left soon after the two girls. Then Isabel, with a quick kiss for Michael, departed as well, determined to spend hours in front of her closet, picking out the perfect outfit for graduation.

Finally, Kyle offered Tess a ride home, and the two took their leave.

As she walked towards the car with Kyle, Tess slid her hand into his and said, "So… tomorrow we graduate."

"Yeah," Kyle agreed, squeezing her hand. "Tomorrow we graduate. And then… who knows?"

"You know… when I told you that you could beat up Max… I was actually kidding," Tess said.

Kyle rolled his eyes and replied, "If he hurts you, I will kill him. Otherwise, I wish you two all the happiness in the world."

Tess swallowed nervously. "I wish that for all of us," she answered. "And maybe someday I'll be Tess Harding-Evans… but that's pretty far in the future, so I won't worry about it yet."

"You love him and he loves you," Kyle intoned. "You'll make it. I know you will."

"Thanks, Kyle," Tess said. "But I don't want to think too much about the future. I'm happy in the present." Then she grinned and added, "But I might practice signing my name as Tess Harding-Evans… just in case."

"Actually, I wanted to talk to you about that," Kyle said, his tone serious. "I… well, it's something Dad and I were thinking about…" He trailed off, looking uncomfortable. "I mean, when you came here, you only took the name Tess Harding because that was what Nasedo wanted you to be. It's not really your name… I mean, you've only had it for a few years."

"I went by a lot of other names," Tess concurred. "Nasedo was always changing them. Kate, Sara, Samantha, Jessica, Anna…" She shrugged. "But I'm used to Tess. I like it."

"Me, too," Kyle agreed. "But… well… it was your last name I was thinking about. I mean… we… Dad and I…" He ran a hand through his hair and Tess stopped with her hand on the handle of the car door, waiting for him to finish his sentence.

Kyle walked around to the other side of the car and opened the door. He let himself in, and Tess did the same, closing the door shut behind her. Kyle turned the keys in the ignition and the car sprung to life. He pulled out into the street and started driving.

"Your last name tells where you belong… who you belong to and with…" Kyle said at last. "My Dad and I… Well, you don't have to… obviously, it's your choice, but since you haven't had Harding that long… maybe, we thought… you might want to change it. You know… officially."

"Change it?" Tess echoed, not understanding. "To what?"

Kyle looked at her and replied, "To Valenti."

Tess, caught by surprise, felt her breath leave her and the tears burn in her eyes at his words, at his sweetly simple gesture.

* * *

Inside the diner, Michael grabbed his coat and he and Max walked towards the door. "It's not over," Michael said slowly, stepping out into the sun. "You know it isn't over." 

Max nodded. "Khivar's going to come, isn't he?"

"Yes. And he will try to kill us all," Michael replied.

Max thought of Michael, the way he looked at Isabel when he thought no one was watching. He remembered the teasing look in Isabel's eyes as she spoke to Liz and Alex. He recalled Kyle's protectiveness of Tess and Maria's mock horror at the thought of being related to Kyle. He knew that Liz had seen him and Tess kissing, and that she'd given her own silent acceptance to it. That Maria was still friends with Michael and Isabel, no matter what had happened. And he thought of Tess and the unswerving faith she had placed in him for so long.

He turned to Michael. "Just let him try," he said vehemently. "We're ready."


End file.
